Meant to Be
by emb22
Summary: Just when it looked like Reed and Sue would have a fairytale ending, they start getting into a lot more fights. Their engagement to one another is off and on at best. Will Reed and Sue realize that they were meant to be? What will Ben and Johnny do?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fantastic Four. Fantastic Four is the property of Marvel and 20****th**** Century Fox.**

**Meant to Be**

_Chapter 1-Trouble in Paradise_

Sue walked into the dining room of Reed's apartment on the top floor of the Baxter Building. She took a seat next to Reed who was sipping a cup of coffee while reading a newspaper. Ben sat across the table from Sue. He had a normal sized (for him) cup of orange juice, and a large bowl of fruit sitting in front of him. Sue noticed that one member of their team was missing at the table—her brother, Johnny. She checked her watch, and saw that it was eight o'clock in the morning. Sue didn't think much more on the matter for she knew how much Johnny loved to sleep in.

"Morning Susie," Ben said.

"Good morning Ben," Sue replied.

The sound of voices in the room got Reed's attention. He looked up from his paper and saw Sue sitting to his left. 'Was I really that into the paper that I didn't hear Sue come in?' Reed thought to himself.

"Good morning Sue. I didn't see you there. When did you get up?" Reed asked while leaning over and giving his fiancée a quick peck on the lips.

Reed noticed that Sue had a slightly annoyed expression on her face. Apparently the little kiss on the lips wasn't enough to get him off the hook this morning. He wondered if Sue was invisible when she walked into the room or if he just wasn't paying attention. If it was the latter, he knew he would be in trouble with his fiancée.

"Just now. I've been doing some thinking Reed. Since we're engaged now, I think now is as good of time as any for us to share a room together," Sue said.

Reed had been drinking his coffee while Sue was talking, and upon hearing what she said, he started choking on his coffee. He coughed rather loudly while trying to remedy the situation.

"I don't think now's a good time for that Sue. I mean there are a lot of things to consider before making a decision like that. For example, the bed in my room isn't big enough for the two of us to sleep in. Furthermore, if by moving into my room, you mean to—you know—then I was thinking we could wait until after we're married before we do—_that_," Reed stated.

Ben couldn't help but smirk both at Reed's response itself and the way Reed shifted uncomfortably in his chair when Sue suggested the two of them rooming together.

"You have an answer for everything don't you Reed? By the way, I wasn't implying moving in with you just so we could have sex! Besides, we're all adults here, so I think you can actually say the word _sex_! Why is it that whenever I think it's time for us to take our relationship to the next level, you get cold feet?" Sue asked.

Reed noticed that Sue had started to turn invisible as she spoke. 'Was that really what was going on here? Am I really getting cold feet?' Reed thought to himself. 'Impossible! After all, I _did_ ask _her_ to marry me!'

"I'm not getting cold feet!" Reed retorted.

"Of course not, because you already have cold feet!" Sue countered.

Ben wished he had some popcorn or something because this was getting interesting. It was almost like watching a movie except better.

"If I had cold feet, would I have asked you to marry me?" Reed asked.

"I don't know. For all I know, that was just a momentary lapse of judgment on your part," Sue answered.

Reed was offended that Sue would ever even think that about him. He loved her with every fiber of his being, and he thought she knew that, but apparently she didn't. He was trying to stay calm, cool, and collected, but he was finding it to be more and more difficult given how Sue was all but yelling at him.

"Okay fine. If it'll make you happy, we'll go and get a king-sized bed today, so that way you can move into my room," Reed said.

"You are unbelievable! I want you to do something because _you_ want to do it, not merely to make me happy!" Sue exclaimed.

Ben noticed that a very groggy looking Johnny had stumbled his way out to the dining room. From his appearance, he didn't look to be in too good of a mood himself.

"Will you two keep it down? _Some_ of us are _trying_ to sleep!" Johnny remarked.

Before anyone could even say anything in response, Johnny was already heading back towards his bedroom supposedly to try to go back to sleep.

"I can't ever win with you, can I? If I don't give you what you want, you get mad at me! If I give you what you want, you get mad at me! You claim that I never even wanted it to begin with, and I'm only doing it to make you happy!" Reed said in a loud voice.

"Well, maybe if you would for once in your life stop overanalyzing every little detail of every little thing, I wouldn't have a reason to be angry with you!" Sue retorted.

Reed had a stunned look on his face. He hated to admit it, but there was truth to what Sue was saying. He _does_ overanalyze things. He can't help it though. He has been like that for practically as long as he can remember.

"What do you want me to be like Johnny? Is that what you want? Do you want me to be impulsive, reckless, and carefree?" Reed asked.

"I can _still _hear you!" Johnny yelled from his bedroom.

"How dare you drag my brother into this! He may be a bit of a daredevil, but at least he's not afraid to take action Reed! You, on the other hand, think of every fathomable possibility before you even make a move!" Sue replied.

While it was amusing at first, it wasn't really amusing anymore. Ben was starting to think that maybe he should get Reed and Sue to stop arguing. It would absolutely ruin their team dynamic if two of his teammates were at odds with one another.

"Okay you two, that's enough. Stop it. Need I remind you that you two are engaged to be married? Is this any way for you two to behave? Now apologize to each other," Ben demanded.

Reed and Sue exchanged glances with one another waiting for the other to apologize first. When that didn't happen, they averted their gaze so they wouldn't have to make eye contact with one another.

"The only way I'm apologizing to her is if she apologizes to me first," Reed stated.

"That's not happening!" Sue exclaimed before leaving Ben and Reed in the dining room.

Reed massaged his temples with his fingers. His argument with Sue had given him quite the headache. It was the first major argument they had since getting engaged. Reed wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't the last argument they had either. Once he was sure Sue was out of earshot, Reed spoke to his best friend.

"Can you believe her? I'm telling you. Sue can be really stubborn when she wants to be!" Reed commented.

"Are you sure _she's_ the stubborn one?" Ben asked.

Reed had a confused expression on his face. 'Are my ears deceiving me? Did Ben just call _me _the stubborn one? He's _supposed_ to be my best friend! He's supposed to be on _my_ side!' Reed thought to himself.

"Think about it Reed. The first time you and Sue dated, the two of you broke up because _you_ weren't ready to share an apartment with her. You two got engaged when it was the right time for _you_. The two of you aren't sharing a room together because _you_ don't want to," Ben explained.

Meanwhile, Sue made her way to her brother's room, and was sitting at the foot of Johnny's bed. Johnny sat up in his bed.

"So much for sleeping in this morning," Johnny commented.

Johnny rubbed the sand from his eyes, stretched his arms, and let out a rather loud yawn. He then noticed a few tears roll down his sister's cheek. It broke his heart to see his sister cry. He took a seat beside her on the foot of his bed, and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. She in turn laid her head upon his shoulder.

"What were you and Reed fighting about anyways?" Johnny asked.

"I thought you said you could hear us?" Sue replied with a small grin.

'At least I got a smile out of her even if it was only a small one,' Johnny thought to himself. After their parents died, Sue practically raised Johnny by herself. As long as he could remember, she always saw to it that she didn't cry in Johnny's presence. Whenever Johnny suspected Sue was sad, she simply put on a brave face. Johnny was glad that Sue felt comfortable enough to cry in front of him now.

"I just heard noise. I couldn't make out any of the words," Johnny answered.

"I asked Reed if he and I could share a room together since we're engaged, but he practically shot that idea down. He fed me some bull about how he doesn't have a bed that sleeps two people, and how our relationship isn't at that level," Sue stated.

Johnny was surprised that his sister wasn't yelling. He knew she had to still be angry because her body felt tense to him. He felt bad for his sister. Reed had already put her through emotional hell the first time they dated. Now, it seems as though he was doing so again.

"Do you want me to beat him up for you? You _do_ know what happens when rubber is superheated, don't you? A well placed fireball at just the right temperature will immobilize him for a good couple of hours or so," Johnny said.

Sue let out a small laugh. "Hey! I'm your big sister. I'm supposed to be the one looking out for you not the other way around. Seriously though Johnny, that's sweet, but not necessary," Sue responded.

The siblings sat in a comfortable silence. Johnny looked down and saw that his sister's eyes were still watering. She wasn't sobbing though. She wasn't even sniffling. As per his character, Johnny was the first to break the silence.

"Is there anything else bugging you?" Johnny asked.

"Honestly, this isn't really about Reed not wanting to share a room with me. What's really bugging me is that Reed hasn't even set a date for our wedding yet. The way I see it, the only reason Reed hasn't set a date for our wedding is because he doesn't want to marry me. Why did I fall head over heels in love with a guy who has a fear of commitment?" Sue asked.

Johnny didn't know what to say. He dated tons of women, but he never felt the way Sue feels about Reed. So, he doesn't exactly have any experience when it comes to actually being in love. One thing Johnny did know though was that Reed broke his sister's heart once before, and he was not about to let Reed break Sue's heart again.

**To Be Continued…**

**This is my first Fantastic Four fanfic. As far as the timeline is concerned, this takes place after the first movie, but before Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. I have a chorus concert this Sunday, and finals week starts a week from today, so I don't know when I'll get the next chapter up. Thank you for giving this story a chance. Please read & review. No flames please. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Fantastic Four is the property of Marvel and 20****th**** Century Fox. **

**Meant to Be**

_Chapter 2-Confrontation_

In Johnny's room, Sue was getting up to leave. After talking to her brother, Sue felt a little bit better. She felt as though a little bit of weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Sue was glad she came to talk to Johnny. It was nice to talk to someone who wouldn't judge her. It was nice for her to say everything that she had on her mind, and for someone to just listen to her. 'Who knew Johnny of all people could be such a good listener?' Sue thought to herself.

"I'm going to go out for awhile. I think it'd be better if I create some distance between me and Reed because I don't want to see him right now nor do I want to talk to him. I don't know when I'll be back, but at least this way you know where I am," Sue said.

"Hey sis, you don't need _my_ permission to go anywhere," Johnny replied.

Sue thought back to something Johnny had said to her. 'Do you want me to beat him up for you?' kept echoing in Sue's head. As much as Sue would love Johnny to give Reed what he has coming, she didn't want to drag her brother into her problems with Reed. Although, Sue was tempted to topple Reed with one of her force fields herself.

"Okay, but before I go, will you promise me that you won't go and fight Reed?" Sue asked.

"Now where's the fun in that? Besides, Reed is practically asking for it," Johnny responded.

"Johnny!" Sue exclaimed.

"Alright. I'll _try_ to behave myself, but I refuse to promise anything," Johnny said reluctantly.

Sue sighed. 'That's probably the closest thing to a promise I'll get from him,' Sue thought to herself. She still couldn't shake the feeling that Johnny was going to do something to Reed while she was away. Not that she was concerned for Reed's safety though. The mental image of Johnny immobilizing Reed with a fireball was enough to put a grin on Sue's face. Sue just wished that Johnny would do what he was told for once. She knew that he would probably always be impulsive, but was it too much to ask for her to hope that he would be less impulsive?

"Thanks for letting me vent," Sue said before planting a kiss on her brother's cheek.

"Hey, that's what brothers are for," Johnny stated before vigorously trying to rub his sister's lipstick off his cheek.

Sue stifled a laugh as she left Johnny's room. 'I love him to death, but he never has been one for the whole sibling affection thing,' Sue thought to herself.

In the meantime, Reed was in the lab working on one of his many projects. New ideas were almost constantly popping into his head, and thus he had several projects started, but many of which were far from completion. Whenever Reed wanted some time to himself or just to gather his thoughts, he came to the lab. Ben knew this as well, as he showed up at the lab to find Reed.

"I thought I might find you here," Ben commented.

"Well, this is basically my second home," Reed stated without looking up from his work.

Ben felt guilty for some of the things he said to Reed before. He and Reed were best friends, and you wouldn't have known it from some of the things Ben said about Reed earlier.

"I came to apologize for before. I didn't mean to come down so hard on you. I'm sorry," Ben said.

"You should be sorry. However, I must say that I have reached the conclusion that you were right. I do have a tendency to become so wrapped up in my own thoughts that I fail to realize that other people have thoughts of their own as well. It's not fair for me to expect that I'll always get my way. Although, in my defense, all four of us are rather stubborn individuals. None of us like to be wrong," Reed answered.

Ben was somewhat surprised that Reed didn't say 'I forgive you.' In all the years Ben has known Reed, Reed has never been the type to hold grudges. Ben felt as though Reed was waiting for him to explain himself.

"All I really wanted was for you and Sue to work things out. You were correct to say that Sue, Johnny, you, and I are stubborn. A part of our stubbornness is an inability to look at things from someone else's perspective. That's all I really wanted you to do Reed—to try to see things from Sue's point of view," Ben explained.

Reed finally looked up from his desk at Ben. He noticed that Ben had a very genuine expression on his face. Reed knew that Ben meant everything he had just said.

"I hate to admit it, but thanks to your brutal honesty, I was able to see things from Sue's perspective. I can see why she would be upset with me. Quite frankly, now that I've cooled off, I'm not even sure why I was so mad at her. I don't know how I'm going to make things right between Sue and me, or if I even can," Reed commented.

Ben hated hearing Reed sound so defeated. Reed was not one to just give up when things looked bleak, and what kind of a best friend would he be if he were to let Reed be a quitter now?

"What are you talking about? Of course you can fix things between you and Susie," Ben said reassuringly.

"Where do I even start?" Reed asked.

"That's simple. Johnny. If anyone knows what goes on in Sue's head, it's her brother," Ben answered.

Ben made a good point. Reed knew that Sue had to essentially raise Johnny by herself after their parents had died. She knew how close the two siblings were to one another. Ben's suggestion was the most appealing not to mention the only solution he could think of for the time being. Reed headed towards Johnny's room to speak with him.

However, it would be Ben, not Reed, that would see Johnny first. Ben found Johnny lounging on the sofa flipping through the channels on TV while eating a bowl of cereal. Ben realized that he hadn't seen Sue ever since her fight with Reed.

"Hey Tinker Bell, where's your sister?" Ben asked.

"What, do I look like her babysitter wide load?" Johnny retorted.

"I'm not in the mood for your antics, so just answer the question!" Ben exclaimed.

Johnny tried his best to hide the smirk on his face. One of his favorite things to do was getting under Ben's skin. Johnny found it incredibly easy to do, which made it that much more satisfying.

"Well, since you asked ever so nicely, she's out," Johnny answered.

"Out? Out where?" Ben asked.

"I don't know," Johnny replied.

"Wow! You've been incredibly helpful Burnout!" Ben remarked.

"It's always a pleasure talking to you too Blockhead!" Johnny commented.

Ben rolled his eyes. He couldn't figure out why Johnny always seemed to get him so riled up. Ben had a suspicion that Johnny knew more than he was saying, but it was apparent he wouldn't get anymore information out of him.

"Oh, by the way, Reed wanted to see you," Ben said.

"Oh, okay," Johnny responded.

However, Ben noticed that Johnny remained reclining on the couch flipping through the channels. The only sounds that could be heard were the sound of Johnny munching on his cereal, and the TV.

"Did you hear what I said flame boy?" Ben asked.

"Yeah, yeah. I heard you Pebbles," Johnny stated.

Despite Johnny claiming he heard what Ben said, Ben noticed that Johnny remained rooted to his spot on the sofa.

"Well?" Ben said.

"Well what?" Johnny asked.

"Aren't you going to go find Reed?" Ben asked.

"Yeah. Of course. I'll get right on that," Johnny said.

Ben saw that Johnny still wasn't budging, so he just rolled his eyes and gave up. He headed to his room muttering something to the effect of 'kids these days' under his breath.

Not long after Ben left the living room, Reed entered. He saw Johnny lying on the sofa. He also noticed that nobody else was in the room. 'Maybe it's better that nobody else is around,' Reed thought to himself.

"There you are Johnny. I've been looking for you," Reed stated.

"Well, here I am," Johnny replied.

Johnny got up from the couch, turned around, and launched a fireball straight at Reed. After his initial shock, Reed managed to avoid Johnny's attack by stretching his torso and bending it at a bizarre angle.

"What are you doing?" Reed asked.

"It's called payback. You hurt my sister, and now I'm going to make you pay," Johnny answered before hurling a second fireball at Reed.

Due to the distance that separated them, Reed had enough time to avoid Johnny's second attack this time by simply sidestepping the attack.

"I'm not going to fight you," Reed said.

"That's too bad because I'm fighting you," Johnny remarked.

This time, Johnny launched a series of fireballs one after the other. Reed stretched, twisted, and turned his body to avoid the attacks. He knew that if one of Johnny's fireballs connected, that part of his body would be superheated, and Reed wouldn't be able to stretch it at all. As it was, Reed was barely dodging Johnny's flurry of offense.

"Johnny, stop it! Will you at least listen to what I have to say?" Reed asked.

"Why would I do that when I could care less what you have to say?" Johnny countered.

The next two words to come from Johnny's mouth were the two words Reed hoped Johnny wouldn't say.

"Flame on!" Johnny said as his body was engulfed in flames, and he hovered in the air.

The next thing Reed knew, Johnny was flying straight towards him. Reed knew that he had to do something quick. He stretched out his right arm, extended it out to the kitchen, and grabbed a fire extinguisher. He retracted his arm, and sprayed Johnny in the face with the fire extinguisher just as he was a mere three feet away. Johnny's body was no longer on fire. Instead, he was covered in flame retardant. Johnny was now on the floor temporarily blinded, and furiously rubbing his eyes trying to see.

"Are you okay? I didn't want to do that," Reed stated.

"Flame on!" Johnny said, but it was to no avail.

Reed noticed Johnny snap his fingers in an effort to conjure up a fireball, but that didn't work either. Johnny started to throw wild punches, and Reed was caught off guard when one of those punches connected with his jaw.

"You may have neutralized my powers, but I can still take you," Johnny commented.

Reed wasn't about to make the same mistake twice. He already underestimated powerless Johnny, and as a result, Reed was nursing a sore jaw. Reed elongated his body, wrapped it around Johnny's, and tied him up. He could feel Johnny squirming and struggling to break free, but Reed wasn't letting him go until Johnny heard what he had to say.

"I didn't mean to hurt your sister. I love her," Reed stated.

"Oh really? Well, you sure have a funny way of showing it!" Johnny replied.

Reed was fighting the desire to squeeze the air out of Johnny so he would shut up and listen to him. Reed was normally a very patient person, but Johnny was definitely pushing his buttons.

"I don't know what your sister told you, but I am willing to do whatever it takes to make things right with her, and that's why I need your help," Reed said.

"Dream on! You may be our leader, but my loyalties are first and foremost to my sister," Johnny responded.

Reed tightened his hold on Johnny. It wasn't enough to injure him, but it was enough to make Johnny more uncomfortable.

"You want your sister to be happy, don't you? Well, so do I. Johnny, I didn't ask your sister to marry me just for the sake of asking her to marry me. I asked your sister to marry me because I love her, and I want to spend the rest of my life with her," Reed explained.

Johnny was so tempted to respond with 'Well, then why haven't you set a wedding date yet?', but that might give Reed the answer he's seeking. That would be helping Reed, and Johnny wasn't about to do that.

"You broke my sister's heart the first time you dated, and I won't let you break her heart again!" Johnny exclaimed.

Reed admired how Johnny was unwilling to give up in spite of the fact that he couldn't even move. Even so, Reed was getting somewhat irritated that he wasn't getting through to Johnny.

"For the last time, I _love_ Sue! Yes, she and I got into a fight, but every couple is bound to fight every now and then. That doesn't mean we can't work things out! We _can_ work things out. We _will_ work things out," Reed said.

"How can you work things out if you don't know what Sue wants? How can you work things out if you don't even know what you did wrong?" Johnny countered.

"Then tell me what Sue wants. Tell me what I did wrong," Reed pleaded.

Johnny scoffed at Reed's request. If it was even possible, Reed's patience with Johnny became even thinner.

"You know for someone as intelligent as you are, you sure can be clueless! I'm not about to provide you with the inside scoop on how to win over my sister or cheer her up. Figure it out yourself!" Johnny remarked.

Reed was tired of Johnny defying him. 'I'm _his_ leader! He's _supposed_ to do what I say!' Reed thought to himself.

"Reed? What are you doing? Let the kid go!" Ben shouted.

Reed saw that he and Johnny were no longer alone in the living room. Ben had a very bewildered expression on his face like he didn't know what to make of the situation. Reed's body slithered like a serpent as he uncoiled his body and let Johnny go. Johnny headed to his room but not before giving Reed a venomous glare. When, it was just Ben and Reed in the room, Ben confronted Reed.

"What were you thinking? I come into the living room and see Johnny covered from head to toe in flame retardant. I see you entangled him with your body. You better not have hurt him—" Ben said before he was interrupted by Reed.

"I didn't hurt him. The only thing I probably hurt is his pride," Reed stated.

"Like I was saying, you better not have hurt him because if you did, and Sue was to find out, you'd be in deep trouble," Ben finished.

Ben saw for the first time that Reed's jaw was starting to turn black and blue. He couldn't believe he didn't notice that when he first walked in.

"How'd you get that?" Ben asked pointing to Reed's jaw.

"Johnny. He wasn't exactly open to the idea of helping me patch things up with Sue," Reed explained.

Ben thought back to when he and Reed fought with one another. Reed had managed to prevail in that encounter as well just like he got the better of Johnny in their altercation. 'I guess that's why he's our leader,' Ben thought to himself.

"Speaking of Sue, do you know where she went?" Reed asked.

"No. All Johnny told me was that she went out," Ben answered.

Reed felt miserable. The Fantastic Four were falling apart at the seams. He knew that he played a major role in that. 'At least you were able to get _some_ information out of Johnny. At least you are on good terms with him,' Reed thought to himself while looking at Ben.

"Well, nevertheless, I'm going to go look for her," Reed said.

Ben watched as Reed got into the elevator. He hoped that Reed and Sue would be able to work things out. As things stood now, Ben felt that the Fantastic Four were four individuals instead of a cohesive team. Ben hoped that would change very soon.

**To Be Continued…**

**So finals week at my college started yesterday. I actually had one final yesterday, and I also had a final this morning. That is why I didn't update sooner. My next final isn't until Tuesday, but I do still have two finals left to take, so I am not certain when I will get the next chapter up as the two finals I have left to take are cumulative, and thus, I have a ton of studying to do. I want to thank everyone who read and/or reviewed the first chapter. I also want to thank in advance anyone who will read and/or review this chapter. Feel free to let me know what you think in a review. No flames please. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fantastic Four. Fantastic Four is the property of Marvel and 20****th**** Century Fox. I also am not making any profit by writing this. **

**Meant to Be**

_Chapter 3-Talk to Me_

Reed had no idea where to find Sue. All he knew was that if he didn't find her and fix things between them, he might lose her forever, and that was something he couldn't bear the thought of. He wasn't really sure what exactly it was they had a fight about in the first place. However, he did remember that he had become mad at Sue, and she in turn had gotten equally mad at him.

Reed decided that any place was as good as any other to check, so he went to the projection booth at the Hayden Planetarium. Fortunately for Reed, Sue was there gazing at the midnight blue night sky that was illuminated by a myriad of twinkling stars. She looked strangely peaceful star gazing, and Reed almost didn't want to disturb her. He wasn't even certain what he was going to say to Sue. For that matter, Reed wasn't sure that anything he could say would be enough to make things right with Sue. He took a deep breath, prepared for the worst, and hoped for the best.

"There you are," Reed said.

Sue turned around in her seat to face Reed, and almost instantaneously, the tranquil expression on her face was transformed into one of irritation, anger, and annoyance. Reed couldn't help but note how even when Sue was angry, he found her incredibly attractive.

"What are you doing here?" Sue asked in a tone of voice that held a hint of disgust.

"I've been looking for you," Reed answered.

This was one of those rare occasions where Reed hadn't planned things out to the last detail. He found himself instead going with the flow and winging his conversation with Sue. Not having a plan felt very strange to Reed.

"Well, you're wasting your time. I have nothing to say to you," Sue said.

Unfortunately, Reed and Sue were not the only ones in the projection booth at the Hayden Planetarium. Some onlookers were gaping at them as though they were viewing some soap opera unfold before their very eyes. That wasn't anything unusual though. Ever since acquiring their powers, every member of the Fantastic Four had their lives practically put under the microscope courtesy of the media.

"You don't have to say anything. Just hear me out. Please?" Reed begged closing the distance between them and holding her hands in his.

There was an internal struggle going on within Sue. On the one hand, she was still pretty furious with Reed. However, on the other hand, even the simplest gesture, such as him holding her hands, sent a tingle down her spine. She found herself momentarily unable to verbalize her response, so she merely gave an affirmative nod of her head instead.

"I love you Sue. I would do anything for you. I would even die for you. That's how much I love you," Reed stated.

Sue felt tears start to form in the corners of her eyes. As much as she tried to resist it, she found her anger start to go away. Truth be told, this was probably by far the sweetest thing that Reed had ever said to Sue.

"If you love me, then how come the mere thought of sharing a room with me scares you so much?" Sue asked.

Reed was temporarily caught off guard by the question Sue had just posed. First of all, because he sincerely believed that Sue had forgiven him, up until she asked the last question that is. Secondly, and most importantly because Sue actually doubted that he loved her.

"It's because I've never felt as close to another person my entire life as I feel towards you. The idea of me feeling so strongly towards another individual does frighten me a bit. Also, you probably have plenty of ex-boyfriends, but you are my first and only girlfriend I've ever had. I've always been a bit of a geek, and members of the opposite sex don't exactly find that attractive. Let's face it, I'm no Johnny. I guess I'm afraid of growing so close to you because I'm afraid of getting hurt," Reed explained.

Sue saw a side of Reed that she had never seen before as long as she had known him. She couldn't help but feel sympathetic towards him. She also felt somewhat guilty for reacting the way she had. She had no idea he felt this way. If she did, she definitely would not have said some of the things she said to him. His behavior started to make sense to Sue.

"You may not be my brother, but you have accomplished something he hasn't—you've found your special someone, me. You're right. I've had my share of boyfriends, but there's something about you that keeps drawing me to you. You're the one I'm with now. You're the one I want to marry. You're the one I choose to spend the rest of my life with," Sue said.

Reed felt that he didn't deserve someone like Sue. He felt like he was unworthy of Sue's forgiveness. He wore his heart on his sleeve for the first time. He bared his soul to Sue, and fortunately for him, his confession seemed to be just the thing that would make things right between him and his fiancée.

"You're right. There's always the risk of getting hurt when you're in a relationship, but every couple is going to fight from time to time. If the couple is truly meant to be together, then they'll get past it, and I think, no I know that we are one of those couples," Sue stated.

What was most ironic to Reed was that the words that Sue just said to him were practically the same words that Reed said to Johnny during their altercation. Reed was very grateful that Sue was so patient with him. Any other female probably would have dumped him for all but having a fear of commitment. That just made Reed feel all the more unworthy to have a fiancée like Sue.

"What happened to your jaw?" Sue asked her eyes shining with concern.

Reed started to get nervous. His heart rate increased and the palms of his hands began to sweat. He was fairly sure that any response he might give would be treading on thin ice. Reed knew that no matter what happened between him and Sue, Johnny would always be a big part of Sue's life. Reed had to make sure he chose his words carefully so as not to upset Sue. Without question, Sue cared deeply for both Reed and her brother, Johnny, but if it comes down to one or the other, Reed would be foolish to expect Sue to side with him over Johnny.

"It's nothing. Johnny and I just got into a bit of a scuffle while you were gone," Reed answered truthfully.

Reed noticed the anger reappear on Sue's face once again. However, it didn't seem to be quite as severe as it was before. Reed was unsure whether Sue was mad at him or Johnny, but he selfishly hoped she was mad at Johnny. He and Sue were just starting to make some progress too. He hoped it wasn't all for nothing.

"I told him not to get into a fight with you. I know his heart was in the right place, but I wish that he would actually do what I ask of him once in awhile," Sue remarked.

Reed watched as Sue's facial expression changed yet again. Now her face looked worried. Also, by the way Sue was narrowing her eyes at Reed, he guessed that she was mad at him as well.

"You didn't hurt Johnny, did you?" Sue asked.

Reed couldn't believe his ears. Here he was nursing a bruised jaw, and Sue was more concerned about the welfare of her brother. Johnny is the youngest member of the team. As a matter of fact, even though they aren't related by blood, Johnny is like a younger brother to both Reed and Ben. If Sue actually believed that Reed would physically harm Johnny, then she didn't know Reed as well as he thought she did.

"Of course I didn't!" Reed exclaimed.

"I thought I told you not to drag my brother into this?" Sue asked.

It was now Reed's turn to have an incredulous look on his face. Apparently Ben was right. He shouldn't have told Sue about the confrontation he had with Johnny. Still though, he couldn't get over the fact that he was the only one who came out of the altercation worse for wear yet Sue was going off on him. Did his openness and confession mean nothing to her?

"He attacked me first!" Reed countered.

"It doesn't matter who started it! All that matters is that you fought back! I expected better from you!" Sue retorted.

Apparently word had spread like wildfire that Sue and Reed were fighting as the projection booth was nearly at maximum capacity, and the people in attendance were not there to look at the stars.

"Look, can we go somewhere a bit more private to continue this?" Reed asked glancing around at the crowd of spectators.

"What's the point? The press is so damn interested in every facet of our lives that it's going to end up in the news, in a magazine, in a newspaper, or on the internet sooner or later no matter what precautions we might take," Sue remarked.

Reed knew that Sue had a point. Their lives were far from normal now. In fact, their lives would never be normal again. They were superheroes, celebrities, and as such, there would be no escaping the media.

"Will you give us some privacy?" Reed asked addressing their audience.

However, not a single spectator budged. All of them remained rooted in their positions despite Reed's request to be alone with Sue. Their gazes were fixated on Reed and Sue. It was somewhat creepy because they weren't even blinking out of fear that they might miss something.

"I have an idea," Sue said.

The next thing the onlookers knew, both Reed and Sue had vanished. Reed and Sue left the projection booth since it was apparent that the audience wasn't about to leave anytime soon so long as Reed and Sue were there. Thanks to Sue's powers, Reed and Sue were able to slip out of the Hayden Planetarium undetected. Once they were certain they weren't being watched, Reed and Sue became visible.

"You don't get it, do you Reed? Johnny's the only family I have left. When my father was on his deathbed during the last fleeting moments of his life, I promised him that I would take care of Johnny and protect him. I have no intention of ever breaking that promise," Sue said.

If nothing else, at least Reed was now sure that it wasn't just Johnny that was protective of Sue—Sue was just as, if not more, protective of Johnny.

"I understand, but let me reiterate that I did _not _hurt Johnny," Reed stated.

"So I'm supposed to believe that the 'scuffle' was one-sided? Let me guess, you just stood there while Johnny wailed on you with fireballs?" Sue asked.

Reed didn't know how to get Sue to understand that he didn't hurt Johnny. The way he saw it, he could tell her until he was blue in the face, and it still wouldn't register with her. So if words weren't doing the trick, maybe actions would. After all, actions supposedly speak louder than words.

Sue was floored when Reed leaned forward and kissed her. It wasn't a brief peck on the lips either. Once Sue recovered from her shock, she soon was returning the kiss with equal passion. She cupped his cheeks in her hands. He had one hand on her neck, while the other was caressing the side of her face. Sue felt Reed's tongue asking for entrance inside her mouth. Soon enough, their tongues were intertwined with one another. There was no semblance of time at this moment. In its stead, all that remained was Reed and Sue sharing a moment of pure passion with one another. That was until there was an all too familiar flash of light. Reed and Sue separated and looked at the source of the flash to find paparazzi wielding cameras of various shapes and sizes. They had been spotted once again.

"I hate the paparazzi!" Reed commented as Sue turned both she and Reed invisible as they made their way home to the Baxter Building.

**To Be Continued…**

**I'm sorry it took me so long to update. After finals week, I went home to my parents' house where there were five people and only two computers due to my parents having company at the time, so you can do the math there. The past few days, there's been no company, but I've been sick. Summer school starts Monday and instruction starts Tuesday, so I really don't know how busy I'll be with my studies then. Oh yeah, and if you haven't seen Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer yet, you should check it out. I thought it was better than the first one, but then again that's just my opinion. Lastly, thank you very much to anyone who has read and/or reviewed my story. Without your support, I would have no motivation to update at all despite ideas swirling around in my head.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fantastic Four although I wish I did. Fantastic Four is the property of Marvel and 20****th**** Century Fox. Also, I am not making any profit by writing this.**

**Meant to Be**

_Chapter 4-One Step Forward and Two Steps Back_

Reed and Sue arrived at the Baxter Building hand in hand giggling. Ben, who just happened to be passing by, heard the laughter, but saw nobody else in the room. With a shrug of his shoulders, Ben passed it off as him hearing things. Then, Reed and Sue became visible.

"I thought I heard something. So is everything okay between the two of you?" Ben asked.

Reed and Sue exchanged glances with one another. Ben had no idea what exactly it was that Reed did to make Sue come back, but it must have been good because he could see that both Reed and Sue were genuinely happy.

"Yeah, we're good," Reed said.

"Better than good, we're great," Sue added.

With that, Reed bent down and kissed Sue gently on the lips. That brought a smile to the rocky features of Ben's face. When it was apparent that the kiss wasn't merely a peck on the lips, but a moment of passion, Ben rolled his eyes and retreated to his room. He wasn't that interested in watching public displays of affection.

"So how were you able to turn us both invisible? I mean you've never even tried doing that before!" Reed stated.

"You'd be surprised what I can do," Sue said in a seductive voice.

"God, I'm so lucky to have you in my life," Reed commented.

"Uh-huh. You know it," Sue added.

Reed led Sue to the living room. Reed lay down on the couch, and Sue laid down beside him snuggling up to him. Reed had his arm protectively around her. He took in the pleasant aroma of her perfume. Laying there on the couch with Sue in his arms felt so good to Reed. It felt like he could lay there forever.

"Reed, do you ever think our lives will be normal again?" Sue asked.

"What do you mean?" Reed replied.

"What I mean is will there ever be a time in our lives where we won't have to worry about being hounded by paparazzi?" Sue responded.

Reed took some time to ponder Sue's question. He could feel Sue's heart beat next to his. Their heartbeats were even synchronized with one another. Despite it being the first time Sue had ever asked Reed that question, it wasn't the first time that Reed thought about an answer to the question.

"Our lives will probably always be hectic as long as we do what we do. Paparazzi or no paparazzi, it doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is that I'm with you," Reed answered.

"You've changed Reed. You're different from the first time we dated," Sue remarked.

Reed arched his eyebrows, and had a quizzical expression plastered on his face. Sue couldn't help but be a little turned on by serious Reed.

"A good different I hope," Reed said.

Sue laughed softly. "Yes, a good different. The first time we dated, you were never really good with words. Now though, you seem to know just the right thing to say," Sue explained.

Reed looked longingly into Sue's eyes, and Sue gazed back into Reed's eyes with equal longing. Given how Reed and Sue were looking at one another, it was hard to believe that a mere twelve hours ago, they had just gotten into what might very well have been their worst fight since getting engaged to one another.

Sue was very much enjoying the moment that she was sharing with her fiancé, but there was still a burning question on her mind. As a result, there was a bit of a war going on in Sue's head. A part of her was saying to forget about the question because it'll ruin the moment. The other part of her was saying that the only way she'd ever get an answer to the question was for her to ask the question.

"Reed, can I ask you something?" Sue asked.

"Anything," Reed replied.

"When are we going to get married?" Sue questioned.

Reed could've sworn that his heart skipped a beat upon hearing the question Sue posed. Due to Sue's proximity to him, he hoped that she didn't notice. That question was certainly one of the last things Reed expected Sue to ask him.

"When do you want to get married?" Reed asked.

"Don't answer a question with a question!" Sue exclaimed sitting up on the couch and throwing Reed's arms off of her.

"Seriously, tell me when you'd like to get married, and it's as good as a done deal," Reed said.

Sue had that familiar fuming expression on her face that Reed saw a good twelve hours ago. Sue had her back to Reed and was avoiding any eye contact Reed was attempting to establish with her. Reed was even elongating his neck so that he was looking at Sue face to face. Sue grew tired of the cat and mouse eye contact game they were playing, so she got up from the couch and started to walk away. Reed put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"Sue, wait. Talk to me," Reed pleaded.

Sue's eyes started to well up with tears, and Reed could hear the sounds of Sue's sobs. He saw her body shake every once in awhile from her sobbing. Sue spun around on her heels to face Reed although she still wasn't making eye contact with him.

"What happened to the Reed that surprised me on the yacht with a wedding proposal?" Sue asked.

"He's right here in front of you," Reed answered.

"No, he's not," Sue remarked.

Reed wasn't sure what to make of the situation. When he replayed their conversation in his head, he thought that Sue would be happy with the answer he gave her about when they were getting married. The way he saw it, the answer he gave was better than setting a specific date and risking Sue not being happy about it because she had no say in the matter.

"What do you want me to say Sue? I'm not a mind reader. I can't tell what you are thinking. I don't know what you want. I thought that by giving you the final say in when our wedding is, you'd feel happy. After all, weddings are all about the bride," Reed said.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Sue asked in an angry voice.

"I meant nothing by it. God, I can't believe we are actually fighting _again_!" Reed commented.

"Well we wouldn't be if you would listen to what I say for once! How many damn times do I have to tell you to take charge? Is this what our dynamic is going to be between the two of us? I tell you what I want and what to do and you do it?" Sue asked.

Reed hated being in this position. It made him feel so helpless. It made him feel that nothing he said or did could appease Sue. It was almost like despite his best efforts, he could never truly win with her. He hated that feeling.

"Why is that such a problem for you?" Reed asked.

"Hmm, I don't know. Maybe because you're our _leader_! Damn it Reed! If I can't trust you to take charge in our relationship, how am I to trust you to take charge in the heat of battle?" Sue responded.

"Did you ever think that I never _wanted_ to be leader? I was practically forced into that position by you guys!" Reed retorted.

"Oh that's just peachy! Now you're being leader is _our _fault?" Sue shouted.

In spite of the fact that Johnny was nowhere near the living room, he could still hear Sue and Reed argue from his bedroom. It killed him to hear his sister so upset, and he knew that the root of the problem was Reed. He could make out every single word they were saying now that the two of them were essentially screaming at one another. Johnny knew from the moment that he saw Reed laid eyes on Sue back at the space station before they got their powers that Reed wanted to rekindle his romance with Sue. Johnny had been weary of the idea of Reed getting back together with Sue if for no other reason but their relationship ended in disaster not to mention heartbreak for both persons involved the first time around. Now, it seems like his weariness was for good reason.

"Sue, I'm doing the best that I can! However, I'm not going to be somebody I'm not though! If you can't take me as I am, then maybe we shouldn't get married at all!" Reed remarked.

Sue's eyes stung with tears. She furiously wiped them away with her hand. Her brain was still trying to register what Reed had just said to her. She heard him just fine, but she couldn't believe it. A part of her was furious that he beat her to the punch when it came to breaking off their engagement. Mostly though, she was devastated because the love of her life just called off their engagement. Sue loved Reed with every fiber of her being. She loved Reed more than she's ever loved any other man she's dated in the past. She still felt that something in her relationship with Reed wasn't quite right. 'Being in love shouldn't be this much of a struggle!' Sue thought to herself.

Sue stormed off, and it was then that the weight of Reed's very own words sunk in for him. _He_ had just broken up with _her_. It wasn't what he had meant to do, and so he instantly regretted doing it in the first place. However, at the time, it was the only solution to their predicament Reed could think of. Reed went after her, but was stopped by Johnny who stepped in front of him.

"Johnny, get out of the way! I have to talk to her! I have to make things right!" Reed exclaimed.

Johnny didn't budge an inch. Unless Reed's eyes were deceiving him, he saw sheer hatred in Johnny's eyes as he looked at Reed.

"Leave her alone Reed! You've done enough!" Johnny remarked with an uncharacteristically icy tone of voice.

Reed watched as Johnny chased after his sister. Reed hated himself for what he did. If there was any way he could go back in time and have a do-over, Reed would do it in a heartbeat. He wasn't sure what the future held for him and Sue. For that matter, Reed wasn't even sure he and Sue had a future together anymore.

**To Be Continued…**

**So I just saw Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer for the second time today. That inspired me to update this fic. It actually also made me want to start a new Fantastic Four fic, but upon further evaluation, perhaps it's better that I don't take on too many projects and just work on the ones I've started. If I hadn't seen Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer today, I probably wouldn't have updated. I'm kind of bummed that my reviews have been dwindling as my fic progresses. Don't get me wrong. I'm not writing for the sake of getting tons of reviews. However, when people don't review, that gives me the impression that they don't like my story, and that bums me out. I know I'm not one of those authors who updates daily or every other day, but please bear with me. Your reviews don't even have to be very long. Heck, I'll even take one sentence reviews! Keep in mind though that constructive criticism equals yay! While flaming equals nay! For those who do review, for those who have listed this as one of their favorite stories, for those who took the time to read the entire story, words cannot express how much I appreciate that and appreciate you.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Fantastic Four is the property of Marvel and 20****th**** Century Fox. I am not making any profit by writing this story. **

**Meant to Be**

_Chapter 5-Time Apart_

"Reed! Reed, wake up!" Ben shouted.

Reed sat up in his computer chair. He had the imprints of his computer's keyboard on the sides of his face. Ben wasn't all too surprised to find Reed in the lab.

"Were you able to get any sleep last night?" Ben asked.

"Off and on," Reed answered.

Ben was concerned for his best friend. He got that the lab is practically Reed's second home, but Ben wondered why Reed didn't go and sleep in his bedroom last night. That was just the beginning of his worries though. The Reed before him had an overall unkempt appearance. His hair was a mess. He no longer had that clean cut look. His eyes were red. What might be most disturbing of all though was that it was ten o'clock in the morning. Usually, Reed was the first one up at around six or seven in the morning.

"Did Sue come back?" Reed asked.

Ben frowned sadly. "No. It gets worse. Johnny left too," Ben said.

Reed couldn't say that he was surprised by that news. Sue was Johnny's sister after all. Not to mention that given the glare Johnny gave Reed last night, Reed was certain that Johnny wanted to be nowhere near him either. Knowing that it was just him and Ben in the Baxter Building, Reed felt like the place was empty. There was no banter between Johnny and Ben. More importantly though, there was no Sue.

"There's something you should see," Ben said.

Reed followed Ben to the living room area. The television was on, and the headline caught Reed's attention. Apparently this was what Ben had wanted him to see.

"The top story is that Mr. Fantastic, Reed Richards, and the Invisible Woman, Sue Storm, seem to be fighting. Several eyewitness reports from other residents of the Baxter Building claim to have heard Reed and Sue shouting at one another. In addition, Sue, and her brother, Johnny, checked into a hotel in downtown Manhattan giving credibility to the idea of Reed and Sue fighting. I think the question on everyone's mind is what does this mean for the Fantastic Four? Are they going to split up? With Sue and Johnny staying in a hotel in downtown Manhattan while Reed and Ben are living in the Baxter Building, that looks to be the case," a news anchor stated.

"Sue, why are you watching that _again_?" Johnny asked.

When Johnny didn't get a response from Sue, he picked up the T.V. remote and turned the television off himself. He took a seat on the bed next to his sister. Johnny was worried about her. She hadn't had anything to eat or drink since she left the Baxter Building. Johnny had offered to get her something on multiple occasions, but each time he asked, she declined. He knew for a fact that she didn't sleep a wink last night because she had been crying all night long. As a result, he didn't get any sleep either.

"I know I'm not a very deep person, but if you want to talk—" Johnny started to say.

"It's not that I don't appreciate you being here with me because I do, really I do, but you don't _have_ to be here Johnny," Sue said.

"Oh, I know. I know. See, but the thing is I _want_ to be here with you. You're my sister. I'd follow you to the ends of the world," Johnny replied.

Sue threw herself into her brother's arms. She buried her face in his shoulder and cried her eyes out. Her body was literally shaking with sobs. Johnny wrapped his arms around her and held her. She was getting his t-shirt wet with her tears, but he didn't mind. Johnny didn't really know what to say to her. Ever since he caught up to her after she left the Baxter Building, he hadn't been able to get anything out of her. She refused to talk about it as if not talking about it would mean that it never happened in the first place.

Back at the Baxter Building, Reed's jaw dropped nearly to the floor after seeing the news report of his and Sue's breakup. He was irritated that the media was having a field day with his personal life. After watching the news broadcast though, Reed couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen to the team now that his engagement to Sue was called off. He felt a little bit selfish because a realization dawned on him—his breakup with Sue affected more than just him and Sue, it affected the entire team and put the cohesiveness of their team in jeopardy.

"I really screwed up, didn't I?" Reed asked.

"I'm not going to lie to you Stretch. It doesn't look good. It's fixable though," Ben answered.

"I hate to sound like a pessimist, but how is it fixable when she won't even talk to me? We're not even living under the same roof anymore!" Reed remarked.

Ben wasn't even sure how to answer Reed's question. Ben found himself in a difficult position. Reed was his best friend. However, he was also good friends with Sue. Even though more often than not the kid got on his nerves, Ben even considered Johnny a close friend. However, with them staying at a hotel, and him being in the Baxter Building with Reed, Ben feared they might not be so fond of him anymore either.

"Do you love her?" Ben asked.

"With all my heart," Reed responded.

"Then tell her that," Ben stated.

"She's not going to believe me especially after I called off our engagement," Reed said.

Ben was so frustrated he would be pulling his hair out of his head if he had some. He could tell Reed and Sue were soul mates. Heck, everyone in the world saw that. Everyone except for Reed and Sue that is. If only Ben could get them to see that the two of them belong together.

"You can't succeed if you don't try," Ben commented.

"She's not talking to me!" Reed retorted.

It was obvious that things weren't getting any better the way they things were going, so Ben decided to employ a different tactic in the hopes that this one might actually work.

"Can you blame her?" Ben asked.

Reed's face was one of shock. He never anticipated Ben would flat out blame him. He thought Ben was on his side.

"The way I see it, every time Sue wants to try something new in your relationship, every time things don't go exactly how you would have liked them to, you get scared. You hate uncertainty because you fear uncertainty. You're the kind of guy who plans everything out in advance. You're the kind of guy who likes to know what's coming, what to expect. I have news for you Reed, in relationships there is going to be a lot of uncertainty. There's no way around it. You can deal with it in one of two ways. You can either run from it or you can face it head on," Ben said.

"What are you trying to say, that I'm scared of marriage?" Reed asked.

"What I'm saying is that you have a fear of commitment Reed. In a perfect world, you and Sue would never fight. However, this isn't a perfect world. You have a fear of commitment because you are afraid what might happen when things are no longer perfect," Ben explained.

Reed was still trying to figure out how this had anything to do with him calling off his engagement to Sue. He hated to admit it, but there was a certain truth to what Ben was saying. Even though he didn't care for Ben not blaming Sue for any of this, Ben was being honest with him. Granted, it was brutal honesty, but that's one thing you could count on your friends for. They'll tell you the truth even if it's not what you want to hear. They'll tell you the truth when no one else will.

"So how am I going to make things right with Sue? If I try to see her in person, she'll just slam the door in my face. If I call her, she'll just hang up on me," Reed stated.

"All right. Who are you and what have you done with Reed? The Reed I know isn't a quitter," Ben remarked.

_Ben's right. I'm not a quitter. I am not about to give up on Sue and me. What was it that Ben said earlier? I think it was you can't succeed if you don't try. Well I'm going to do just that—try. I'm going to give it my best shot. If that doesn't work, I'll try again. I'll keep trying until Sue and I are back together. _

"Okay, you've convinced me. Do you have any ideas? I may be smart, but that's only when it comes to science, not ladies," Reed commented.

"As a matter of fact, I do. First though, you should go get yourself cleaned up. Then, when you're ready, we're going to make a trip to a store—a mattress store that is," Ben said.

Back at the hotel, Johnny had fallen asleep. He was laying in a haphazard fashion, so Sue gently moved him being careful not to wake him. She tucked him in and kissed the top of his forehead. As she looked down at her little brother, she could tell that he was exhausted. Sue wasn't too much older than Johnny, but to her at least, Johnny still had a certain boyish innocence to him when he slept. She remembered how he had said he would follow her to the ends of the world. That recollection brought a trace of a smile to her face.

_Ah Johnny, you may be cocky and reckless, but you are one hell of a brother. Words can't even begin to express how much I appreciate your fierce loyalty to me. At least I know there will always be one man in my life I can count on to be there for me. How did I get to be so lucky? What did I do to deserve a brother like you?_

Sue decided to head back to the Baxter Building because if she and Johnny were going to be staying in the hotel, then they would need at least some of their stuff—clothes, toiletries, etc. She would just go to a store and buy them, but seeing how she didn't even bring a purse with her, that wasn't really an option. Of course, Johnny could pay for it since he happened to bring his wallet with him (which was how they were able to pay for their hotel stay in the first place), but Sue felt that Johnny had already done more than enough for her, so she wasn't about to ask that of him. She scribbled a note to Johnny explaining where she was going in case he woke up before she returned. She placed it on the nightstand beside the bed Johnny was sleeping in. Sue quietly snuck out of their hotel room, and softly shut the door behind her. She hoped she wouldn't run into Reed at the Baxter Building because she wasn't ready to see him yet, and for that matter, she wasn't sure if she'd ever be ready to see him again.

**To Be Continued…**

**So I decided to try something new. I decided to put interior dialogue in italics. I'll admit that I had a bit of a writer's block when it came to writing this chapter. When I start a story, I have a general idea of what I want to ultimately accomplish by the end of the story, but as far as planning out what's going to happen in each and every chapter, well, I don't do that. I prefer to take it one chapter at a time. In a way then, I don't know any more of what's going to happen in the next chapter than you do. I won't know either until I actually sit down to write the next chapter. But I digress. Yeah, so as you no doubt noticed, I decided to continue this story after all. This is my first F4 fic, and I'm not getting nearly as many reviews as I did when I started this fic, but one thing you should know about me is that I am the type that finishes what I start. So whether I get twelve reviews or no reviews, I will finish this story. If you want, drop me a review. No flames though. Finally, thank you to everyone who has read and/or reviewed this fic, added this to their story alert, listed this fic as one of their favorite stories, or listed me as one of their favorite authors. To anyone whom any of the above applies, you are awesome. Your support means so much to me and helps brighten my day.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Fantastic Four is the property of Marvel and 20****th**** Century Fox. This is merely for entertainment purposes. I am not making any profit by writing this.**

**Meant to Be**

_Chapter 6-Ill Effects_

Reed and Ben returned to the Baxter Building with a king-sized mattress in tow. They got countless confused glances from onlookers as they lugged the mattress down the streets of New York City and up the stairs of the Baxter Building. With Ben's strength, and Reed's ability to stretch, carrying the mattress wasn't a problem. No, the problem was how many flights of stairs they had to ascend before reaching the top floor of the Baxter Building. By the time the two of them reached the top floor of the Baxter Building, they both collapsed to the ground out of exhaustion.

"You just **had** to live on the top floor didn't you?" Ben remarked.

Reed ignored Ben's remark. His attention was elsewhere. Unless his nose was deceiving him, he detected the familiar scent of Sue's favorite perfume. The aroma was still fairly strong, so Sue had to have been in the Baxter Building recently. _Or maybe she still is._

"Hey! Where are you going? I'm not carrying this mattress to your bedroom by myself!" Ben exclaimed.

Reed excitedly ran to Sue's bedroom hopeful that she was still there. From the way he was running, you would never have guessed he just spent the last thirty or so minutes lugging a mattress up an insane amount of stairs.

When he arrived in Sue's room, something seemed off. In addition to Sue not being in the room, Reed had a feeling that something was missing. He opened Sue's top dresser drawer only to find it was empty. He opened the rest of them one after the other to find that they too were empty. _No! This can't be happening! She was here after all. I would have seen her too had I not been buying her a king-sized mattress. My timing sucks!_

He thought to check her closet. Despite the fact that there were still some of her clothes hanging in the closet, a fair amount of her clothes were gone. Plus, her suitcase was noticeably absent as well. Reed sank to his knees and buried his face in his hands when he saw the gasket he had proposed to Sue with laying on her nightstand.

Back in Sue's hotel room, Sue had just gotten out of the shower. She sat on the foot of Johnny's bed and watched him sleep. She was afraid her shower would wake him. After returning from the Baxter Building with two suitcases—one of her belongings, and one of Johnny's—Sue found that Johnny was still sleeping peacefully. Sue yawned and stretched her arms. _Maybe I should try and get some sleep myself. _

Sue got up from Johnny's bed and walked over to her bed. Before she got there, her vision blurred and she felt disoriented. Her legs felt like spaghetti. She collapsed to the floor and slipped into unconsciousness.

When Sue woke up, she found herself in a hospital bed with an IV in her arm. Her brother was sitting in a chair beside her hospital bed holding her hand. She offered him a small smile, but her smile was soon turned upside down when Johnny didn't return the gesture.

"You scared me half to death sis," Johnny said.

"I'm sorry, but really, I'm fine now," Sue replied.

Sue found this role reversal, this twist of fate, a bit unsettling. _Usually it's me worrying about Johnny not the other way around. It's weird seeing him like this. I wonder what happened to me._

"When I woke up, I found you passed out on the carpet. The doctor said you just fainted from dehydration. I tried to get you to eat and drink, but you wouldn't have any of it, and now look what happened. Maybe next time you'll listen to me," Johnny said.

"How did you know I was going to ask you what happened?" Sue asked.

"It must be our sibling telepathy," Johnny answered.

Sue couldn't suppress a laugh at the absurdness of Johnny's answer.

"Before you say anything, there **is** such a thing as sibling telepathy," Johnny said.

"No there isn't," Sue responded.

"Oh yeah? Well, then how else do you explain me knowing what you were going to say before you said it?" Johnny asked.

"Lucky guess," Sue replied.

Over at the Baxter Building, Reed and Ben had just finished moving the mattress into Reed's bedroom. Ben saw the melancholy look on his best friend's face. It was so quiet in the room, that you would be able to hear a pin drop.

"She'll come back Reed. Just give her some time and you'll see," Ben stated.

Reed didn't react in any way, shape, or form to what Ben had said. Ben wasn't really sure if Reed had even heard him at all. He noticed that Reed had a far away look in his eyes. It was almost like he was spacing out or in a trance or something.

"Earth to Reed," Ben said waving his hand in front of Reed's face.

"What? Did you say something Ben?" Reed asked.

"I said Sue will come back."

"Somehow I doubt that," Reed remarked.

Ben hated how Reed had reverted back to his defeated self. It bothered Ben how quickly Reed was just willing to give up. It was like any pep talk that Ben gave Reed only had a temporary effect.

"Come on Reed. Let's go out on the town and do something. We need to get you out of here. Staying cooped up in here isn't doing you any favors," Ben said.

"Ben, I know you're just trying to be a good friend and all, but you really don't need to smother me. If you want to go and see Alicia and spend time with her, then by all means, go right on ahead," Reed stated.

Ben couldn't figure out if Reed actually meant what he said or if he was just trying to get rid of him so he could be alone. At any rate, Ben wasn't fond of the idea of leaving Reed by himself. It wasn't that Ben was worried Reed might do something stupid and drastic if he was alone. Ben knew that even if Reed wasn't going to outright say it, he didn't want to be alone at a time like this.

"Now what kind of a friend would I be if I abandoned you like that? Where do you want to go Reed? I'll let you choose."

The more Reed thought about it, the more he found Ben's idea of going out somewhere appealing. _Ben's right. Staying here for too long is a bad idea. There are too many reminders of Sue here. That's only going to make me depressed. At least if I go with Ben, I might be able to get my mind off of how royally I screwed up._

"Okay. I'll come with you. I don't know where to go or what to do, so you can go ahead and pick," Reed stated.

Just as Reed was about to get into the elevator, the phone rang. Ben had already started descending the stairs. Besides, given how small the buttons were on the phone relative to the size of Ben's hands, the phone wasn't usable by Ben.

Reed picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Reed? Hi. I'm Sue's doctor. I regret to inform you that Sue's in the hospital. She'll be fine so there's no need to worry. I just thought I should tell you because I didn't figure Sue or Johnny would tell you because—well you know."

"I understand. Thanks for telling me. I'll be right there," Reed said.

After jotting down Sue's room number on a piece of paper, and saying goodbye to Sue's doctor, Reed got in the elevator. A million thoughts raced through Reed's head. _I wonder how badly Sue's hurt. The doctor never really said what happened in the first place. For all I know 'She'll be fine' means after weeks or months of recuperation. Oh God! Please let her be okay. Please let her be okay._ Once he got to the ground floor, he would have to tell Ben that there's been a change of plans.

In the meantime, the atmosphere in Sue's hospital room had dramatically improved. The fact that Sue was going to be fine was starting to sink in. Sue could tell because Johnny's facial expressions had drastically softened from the time when she first woke up in her hospital bed.

"So how long did the doc say you were in for?" Johnny asked.

Sue giggled. "Johnny, this is a hospital not a prison."

Johnny was delighted to hear Sue laugh again. _You have no idea how much I missed your laugh sis. I was beginning to think I would never hear your laugh again. _

"Hey, you never answered my question!" Johnny remarked.

"I need to stay overnight for observation, but after that, I'm good to go," Sue answered.

Johnny's stomach growled. "I guess I should go to the cafeteria and grab a bite to eat, but I'll be right back," Johnny said.

"Okay," Sue replied. _I'm going to be watching you like a hawk little brother. You're not going to starve yourself on my account. _

Sue's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on her door. She looked at the doorway to see who was there and saw two people standing there—one of which she was happy to see, but the other one not so much. Those individuals were Ben and Reed respectively. Sue saw that Reed didn't come empty-handed. He was bearing gifts. He had a bouquet of sunflowers, a heart-shaped box of chocolates, and a teddy bear.

"Hey Susie. How are you feeling?" Ben asked while giving Sue a hug.

"I'm doing good Ben. Thanks for your concern," Sue said giving Ben a gracious smile.

"Here. These are for you. I was worried about you," Reed said.

Reed attempted to give Sue his gifts, but Reed's arms stayed extended gifts in hand as Sue folded her arms over her chest. After about five seconds, Reed started to feel awkward holding his arms out like that, so he decided to just put the gifts on the table at the foot of Sue's hospital bed.

"You know Reed, you can't buy back my love with flowers, chocolate, and a stuffed animal," Sue commented.

"I'm not trying to buy back your love—"

"Oh that's just great. That's the sort of thing you want to hear from your former fiancé," Sue said sarcastically.

"So how did you end up in the hospital anyways?" Ben asked in an effort to stop Sue and Reed's bickering before it started.

Before Sue answered Ben's question, she noticed that Reed had a dejected look on his face. She took pride in the fact that she helped put it there. _That's just a taste of how dejected I felt when you broke off our engagement._

"I just fainted because I was dehydrated," Sue replied.

"Are you sure that's all it was?" Reed asked.

"What difference does it make to you?" Sue shot back.

Ben couldn't help but feel like he was a mediator. He hated being in the middle of two close friends. _Is it so much to ask for those two to stop fighting for five minutes? Why can't things go back to normal, or at least back to the way they were before Reed and Sue started fighting?_

"It **does** matter to me. Do you want to know why it matters to me Sue? It matters because I still love you," Reed said.

"You can't do that Reed! You can't break off our engagement and then say that you love me! If you really truly love me, then you would never have broken off our engagement in the first place!" Sue screamed.

"It was a mistake!" Reed retorted.

"I agree. Our getting engaged **was** a mistake. Ben, you can stay, but Reed just leave. You're not welcome here," Sue stated.

Reed reluctantly did what Sue asked of him. Ben and Sue watched Reed leave Sue's hospital room with his head hanging and his shoulders slumped. Reed was reeling from Sue calling their engagement a mistake.

Ben had to admit that Reed and Sue getting back together looked bleak at the moment. He wasn't going to give up on them though. One thing was for sure. Ben knew that he had his work cut out for him.

**To Be Continued…**

**This was the toughest chapter to write thus far. I originally got to around the 1800 word mark before deciding I didn't like the direction the chapter was going, and deleted the last 1100 or so words of it. I think what's making it so difficult is that as we all know, Reed and Sue end up getting married. I'm a by-the-book kind of guy, and so I like to stick to cannon. Therefore, I have to find some way to get Reed and Sue back together. What makes that tricky is that if I do it too soon, I'll get pigeonholed for doing it too soon. On the other hand, if I drag it on for too long, I risk it getting too repetitive and monotonous. I'd like to give a shout out to the sims 2 rocks, ElektricStorm, and fAteD lOvE for reviewing Chapter 5. I would also like to thank JayJay3493, Scotty Cat, kItty'RoCkeR, and the sims 2 rocks for putting my story on their favorite stories list. Thanks goes out to ElektricStorm, alexandizzie4eva, fAteD lOvE, kItty'RoCkeR, ladyerudite, magnesium12, and the sims 2 rocks for putting this story on their story alert list. To anyone else I might have missed, thank you. Let me know what you think in a review. Constructive criticism is welcome, but please don't flame me. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fantastic Four. Fantastic Four is the property of Marvel and 20****th**** Century Fox. I am not making any profit by writing this.**

**Meant to Be**

_Chapter 7-Let's Try This Again_

The next day, Sue was discharged from the hospital. A nurse wheeled her in a wheelchair outside. From there, Johnny took Sue's hand in his own, and helped his sister to her feet, allowing her to lean on him for support. However, she didn't need to lean on him for support as she was perfectly capable of standing on her own two feet.

"Really Johnny, I'm fine," Sue said reassuringly.

Johnny wasn't the only one who knew when Sue was getting discharged though. Ben and Reed knew too, and they also showed up at the hospital. There was a bit of an awkward silence as no one really knew what to say. Ben nudged Reed forward.

"Sue, do you have a minute?" Reed asked.

Johnny stepped forward most likely to intervene, but Ben prevented that after he put an arm around the younger man's shoulder and led him away in another direction.

"Come on flame boy, let's catch up with one another," Ben said as he and Johnny walked off.

Reed mouthed 'thank you' to Ben. He then turned his attention back to Sue. Reed cleared his throat.

"So, uh, how are you feeling?" Reed inquired.

"Fine," Sue replied nearly devoid of emotion.

Reed cringed at how cold and distant Sue was being towards him. _At least she's talking to me though. That's a start._

"There's something I wanted to show you," Reed said.

He handed Sue a small black photo album that had the word "Memories" in gold letters in the lower right hand corner. She thought back to when she first moved into the Baxter Building after having discovered their powers. That was when she first had come across this very photo album.

"I've already seen this," Sue stated matter-of-factly.

"Oh," was all Reed could answer.

"You've never been good with words," Sue remarked.

Reed pulled out something from his pocket and handed it to Sue. She saw that it was two movie ticket stubs.

"Those are from the movie we saw on our first date," Reed said.

Sue couldn't believe that he had kept them after all this time. Their first date had been well over three years ago. _He's making it really difficult for me to hate him right about now. _

Reed kept looking up at the sky. Sue wondered what Reed was looking for. It was almost like Reed expected something to pop up in the sky at any moment now.

"What are you doing?" Sue asked.

"Sue, look up," Reed instructed.

Sue reluctantly did as he asked. She found that a blimp was hovering in the sky. The marquis on the side of the blimp read 'Reed loves Sue'. Her mouth was agape. That was certainly the last thing she suspected. The next thing Sue knew, she was kissing Reed.

4-4-4-4

Ben and Johnny's walk was strangely silent. Ben got the sense that Johnny was mad at him for giving Sue and Reed some alone time.

"Is there something on your mind, kid?" Ben asked.

"Yeah. What the hell was that back there?" Johnny responded.

"What was what?" Ben asked innocently.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about!" Johnny exclaimed.

Ben sighed. _I knew this was coming. _

"Look, Reed and Sue need to work things out with each other," Ben stated.

"No they don't! They don't **need** to do anything. Although an apology from Reed wouldn't hurt. He's the one who broke off their engagement after all. Do you have any idea how heartbroken Sue was as a result of that?" Johnny asked.

Ben understood where Johnny was coming from. He didn't doubt that Sue was heartbroken when Reed called off their engagement. What the Human Torch probably didn't realize was that Reed was heartbroken as well.

"So he made a mistake. People make mistakes, Johnny. You of all people should know that. Reed regretted callin' off the engagement practically the instant the words came out of his mouth," Ben explained.

"Regret doesn't make things better though," the younger man commented.

"Why are you so against Reed and Sue getting back together? Don't you want your sister to be happy?" the older man asked.

"Of course," Johnny answered.

Ben was perplexed by how what Johnny was saying seemed to be contradicting his behavior. He couldn't figure out for the life of him why the Human Torch seemed to be so dead set against Sue and Reed getting back together.

"Well, then how come you have a problem with your sister and Reed gettin' back together?" Ben asked.

"Because he's already had a second chance, and he blew it. How many more second chances is he going to get?" Johnny replied.

"They still love each other. I think you and I both know it," Ben commented.

4-4-4-4

Reed and Sue's lips parted. Their eyes shone with love. He even saw her smile after their moment of passion. He took pride in the fact that he put that smile there. _It's nice to see you smile again, Sue. God, I missed your smile._

"So, did you like it?" Reed asked.

"The blimp or the kiss? Sue questioned.

"Both," Reed replied.

"Did I like it? You better believe I liked it. That was **so** romantic!" Sue remarked.

Reed couldn't be happier upon hearing Sue's answer. He was so relieved that all his efforts weren't in vain. _It looks like Sue and I are going to get back together after all. This almost seems too good to be true. I hope I don't screw things up this time._

"Move in with me," Reed said.

"Don't worry. I'm coming back to the Baxter Building. How could I not after this?" Sue responded.

"No, I mean share a room with me," Reed stated.

Sue couldn't believe her ears. She was floored by what Reed had just said. She wasn't sure if he was just saying that because he knew it's what she wanted, or if he really meant it, but at the time, the only thing she cared about was that he had said it.

"I'd love to," Sue answered giving Reed a great big hug.

"Oh, and one more thing," Reed said.

Everything seemed to be in slow motion as Sue watched Reed drop to one knee. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small jewelry box. He flipped open the lid and revealed the diamond engagement ring inside. Sue gasped in surprise.

"Sue Storm, will you marry me?" Reed asked.

He anxiously awaited her response. When it didn't come right away, he started to worry. It seemed like an eternity before Sue finally spoke.

"How do I know that you won't call off our engagement again?" Sue inquired.

"You're just going to have to trust me. I was stupid for calling off our engagement. As soon as I did, I immediately regretted it. I love you Sue Storm," Reed replied.

Sue took a few moments to think about it. _He's saying all the right things. Maybe I should give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he actually does mean everything he's said. Face it. He has swept you off your feet today. You wanted the Reed that surprised you with a wedding proposal on a yacht back, and that is exactly what you got._

"Yes, I'll marry you," Sue answered.

The two of them shared a sweet, tender kiss with each other before Reed slipped the diamond engagement ring on Sue's left ring finger.

4-4-4-4

"Ya know kid, I really miss having you around. The Baxter Building's not the same without ya," Ben commented.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Without you, I have no one to torment," Johnny remarked.

Ben couldn't help but chuckle. He noticed that Johnny was starting to loosen up a bit. _That's more like it. That's the Johnny we all hate to love and love to hate. _Ben tried to think up a witty comeback, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized that in a weird sort of way, he actually **enjoyed** Johnny's 'torment'.

"Well, the door's always open Tinker Bell," Ben stated.

"I know," Johnny said.

The two of them soon had walked all the way around the block, and were back to the front of the hospital where Sue and Reed were.

"We're getting married!" Sue said excitedly.

Johnny plastered on a fake smile. _Yeah, I've heard that one before._

"Congratulations!" Ben commented giving Sue a hug.

With Sue's back to Reed, Ben gave Reed a wink. It was mostly a congratulatory wink. However, it was also kind of an I-told-you-so wink. It was Ben that constantly assured Reed that he and Sue would get back together even when Reed thought otherwise.

"Well, I guess I better head back to the hotel, and get my things since I won't need to stay there anymore," Sue said.

"Don't worry about them. I'll get them. You go ahead and go home with Reed," Johnny said before hailing for a taxi.

Soon, Johnny was on his way to the hotel.

"He hates me, doesn't he?" Reed asked.

"He doesn't hate you. He'll come around," Sue replied.

Reed thought otherwise. As thrilled as he was that he was able to patch things up with Sue, they weren't exactly back to being a team yet. Sue may have forgiven Reed, but from the looks of things, Johnny hadn't.

"Maybe I should have a talk with him," Reed suggested.

"I don't think that's such a good idea. I'm with Susie on this one. Give him some space. Once he realizes that you and Sue are really in it for the long haul, I'm sure the kid will come around," Ben responded.

"Yeah, he just needs to know that you're not going to break my heart again," Sue said.

"I won't," Reed stated.

"We know that. In time, Johnny will too," Ben commented.

Reed hoped that Ben was right—for the team's sake.

**To Be Continued…**

**This was a really hard chapter for me to write. It was the dreaded get-back-together chapter. I don't know why I dreaded that so much. Maybe it's because I feel I'm better at writing tension and drama than romance. I'm sorry this update took a little bit longer. I updated one of my other stories, but to be honest, I had a bit of a writer's block when it came to this chapter. I'm still not entirely pleased with it, but we'll see what you guys think.**

**I'd like to thank ElektricStorm, angel-death-dealer, the sims 2 rocks, and fAteD lOvE for reviewing Chapter 6. I want to give a shout out to JayJay3493, Scotty Cat, Tobyruleshot, angel-death-dealer, kItty'RoCkeR, and the sims 2 rocks for putting this story on your favorite stories list. You all are awesome. I also want to thank ElektricStorm, alexandizzie4eva, angel-death-dealer, fAteD lOvE, kItty'RoCkeR, ladyerudite, magnesium12, and the sims 2 rocks for putting this story on your story alert list. Last, but not least, I'd like to thank kItty'RoCkeR and the sims 2 rocks for putting me on your favorite authors list. To anyone else I missed, thank you as well. As always, if you have comments, let me know in a review. I'm interested to hear what you have to say. Constructive criticism is fine in my books, but please don't flame me. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fantastic Four. Fantastic Four is the property of Marvel and Twentieth Century Fox. I am not making any profit by writing this.**

**Meant to Be**

_Chapter 8-Back to the Baxter Building_

After picking Sue up from the hospital, Reed took Sue straight home. When they arrived, the paparazzi wasted no time taking snapshots of the newly reunited couple. The media was buzzing with the news that Reed Richards and Sue Storm were getting back together. In less than fifteen minutes from the time the paparazzi first spotted the couple walking hand in hand, there was a breaking news report on every conceivable news channel covering the topic of Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman getting back together.

Once they reached the top floor of the Baxter Building, Reed took Sue by the hand and led her to his bedroom. She let out a gasp of surprise upon seeing a king-sized mattress in Reed's bedroom.

"Reed, I knew you asked me if I wanted to share a room with you, but I never would have guessed this. It almost seems too good to be true. How did you—when did you—"

"I had a lot of time to think while you were away. So, what do you think?" Reed asked kissing Sue on the top of her head.

Reed noticed that Sue was practically speechless. _Not bad for a science nerd if I do say so myself. _Sue turned around so that she was facing Reed. She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, and pulled him towards her. The two of them shared a passionate kiss with one another. They parted when breathing became an issue.

"I am so hot for you right now," Sue said in a seductive tone of voice.

"Hold that thought, ok? I need to make an important phone call," Reed stated.

Sue was disappointed when Reed left the room. She flopped down on the king-sized mattress. _He must have got this fairly recently because it feels and smells new. Then there's the fact that the bed's not even made yet. Oh well. This is what I wanted after all. _She scanned her surroundings. Reed's room was very neat. There was a faint trace of Reed's cologne in the air. Sue was at peace with herself basking in the feeling that her relationship with Reed was finally back on track, and headed in the right direction.

Meanwhile, in Reed's lab, he was on the phone. He was whispering into the receiver fearful that someone—Sue in particular—would overhear his conversation. That would be the worst imaginable scenario.

"Hi. I realize that this is kind of last minute, but I was wondering if I could set a date for me and my fiancée to get married at your wedding chapel?" Reed asked softly.

4-4-4-4

Ben had just reached the top floor of the Baxter Building himself after having to take the stairs. Right when he walked in, Johnny came out of the elevator wheeling two suitcases behind him. The older man patted the younger man on the shoulder resulting in the latter rubbing his newly sore shoulder. _Yep, Pebbles still needs to work on his touch._

"Good to have you back, Matchstick," Ben remarked.

"I hate to say it, but it's good to be back," Johnny replied giving the Thing a warm smile.

Ben watched as the Human Torch disappeared down the hallway. The sound of the suitcases' wheels could be heard in the distance. _Maybe things will finally go back to normal around here._

As Johnny was wheeling the luggage to his room, he passed Reed's room and saw his sister lying on the mattress. He knocked on the doorframe.

"Hey little bro. You can just leave my suitcase in here because Reed and I are going to be sharing a bedroom together now," Sue announced.

"Oh, okay," Johnny replied as he wheeled her suitcase halfway in the door before turning around to leave.

Sue got off the mattress and chased after her brother. She couldn't help but notice that something seemed off about him. He wasn't quite being himself.

"Johnny, wait up!" Sue called out. Once she caught up to him, she continued. "What's the matter?"

He opened his mouth as if to speak, but then closed it. Johnny started to walk away again, but Sue grabbed a hold of his arm.

"Come on. Don't be like that. Talk to me," she pleaded.

Even though Johnny sighed, Sue could tell that her brother's body was tense. That in itself was peculiar. Johnny was known for having a devil-may-care attitude when it came to life.

"Look, if you're happy. If you're really truly happy, then I'm happy for you. However, I still don't trust Reed. He's broke your heart twice before, and it wouldn't surprise me if he does it again," he explained.

"That's really sweet of you Johnny, but you have nothing to worry about. I have a feeling things are going to be different this time around, and a good different not a bad different," Sue commented.

4-4-4-4

Just as Reed hung up the phone, it rang. He picked it up.

"Hello…uh-huh…uh-huh…okay…we're on our way," Reed said before hanging up the phone.

He was inwardly kicking himself. If his phone call to the chapel had taken any longer—well it was rather fortunate that he hung up when he did.

"Sue, Ben, Johnny, there's been an armed robbery. The perpetrators have already left New York City, and they're headed northbound! The N.Y.P.D. needs our help!" Reed shouted.

The Fantastic Four had an impromptu meeting in the living room to discuss the details and to formulate a game plan. This wasn't anything out of the ordinary for them. Ever since discovering that they had four superheroes living in their city, the police and firefighters relied on the four superheroes to help bail them out of sticky situations.

"The perpetrators are two Caucasian males. They are in their early twenties and are driving a black Jeep," Reed said.

Reed, Sue, and Ben looked at Johnny. They knew that he was the only one of them who stood any chance of catching the robbers. The Human Torch gave a nod of his head and ran out to the balcony. He leapt off the roof.

"Flame on!" he yelled.

The three other members of the Fantastic Four watched Johnny streak off across the sky. Though he'd seen the Human Torch fly countless times before, Reed still marveled at the velocity with which Johnny could fly. Sue waved a hand in front of her fiancé's face trying to get his attention. When that didn't work, she snapped her fingers in front of his face. That did the trick.

"Reed, come on! Let's go!" Sue exclaimed grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the elevator.

"Hey! What about me?" Ben asked feeling a bit left out.

"Sorry Ben. Just stay here. We've got it covered," Reed responded.

Ben watched sadly as the elevator door shut behind Reed and Sue. Even though he had pretty much come to terms with his rocky self, still a part of him wished that he could be normal again. There were times when his powers seemed more of a hindrance than a benefit, and this was one of those times. No taxi could support his weight, and so Ben was left alone at the Baxter Building hoping that things would turn out okay with his teammates.

4-4-4-4

From his position in the sky, Johnny spotted the high-speed chase below him. There were at least six police cars pursuing a black jeep. A helicopter was flying overhead capturing the high-speed chase as it happened. He swooped down so that he could get a closer look.

The perpetrator on the passenger side stuck his head out and fired his gun at the closest police car's window putting a hole in the windshield, and causing the car to swerve out of control. It came to a sudden stop when it crashed into a telephone pole.

Johnny launched a volley of fireballs at the jeep. The jeep veered to the left and right barely dodging the attacks. The driver had his friend take the wheel as he stuck his head out the window and fired his gun at the Human Torch. Johnny adjusted his elevation seamlessly avoiding the gunshots. Soon, the perpetrator ran out of bullets.

"Shit! Give me your gun!" the driver screamed at his accomplice.

The Human Torch took this opportunity, and ran with it; he melted the rubber of the Jeep's back two tires fusing it into the asphalt. The perpetrators had nowhere to run now that their vehicle was disabled.

"This is the police! Step out of the vehicle with your hands in the air!" one officer said using a bullhorn.

The passenger side criminal came out first with his hands in the air. Two officers quickly pointed their guns at him, and had him in handcuffs.

"I repeat step out of the car with your hands in the air!" the officer on the bullhorn ordered.

The driver stepped out with a gun, and time seemed to go in slow motion from then on. Shots were fired. Two officers were shot before the perpetrator was shot. A couple more officers went over to see if the criminal was dead. Johnny saw the young man's finger twitch ever so slightly. The Human Torch made a beeline for the two police officers while shouting "Look out!" at them.

The perpetrator got a shot out though. Johnny tackled the two police officers to the ground. A third police officer shot the criminal a second time. The robber didn't move any longer as he was dead.

The two officers Johnny saved helped him to his feet. The superhero felt a stinging pain in his right shoulder. He looked at his shoulder only to see that he had a bullet in it. The Human Torch felt like his entire right arm was useless to him as he couldn't move it at all.

"Yes, I need an ambulance. I have at least four officers down. I repeat I have four officers down!" an officer radioed in.

4-4-4-4

Reed and Sue had caught a taxi, and were on their way. They had to pull over to let an ambulance pass. He saw the worried look on his fiancée's face. He held her hand in his, and with his other hand rubbed small circles in her back.

"I'm sure there's nothing to worry about. I know what you're thinking, but I'm sure Johnny's fine," Reed said attempting to but failing to sound sure of himself.

After the ambulance had passed, in a matter of minutes, the taxi was where the high-speed chase had ended. The two of them were horrified when they saw five bodies in body bags on the road. Sue rushed out of the taxi, and headed straight for them. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Johnny sitting in the back of the ambulance.

"Oh, thank god! I was so scared that I lost you!" Sue exclaimed enveloping her little brother in a hug.

Reed was soon beside his two teammates. He saw the bandage on Johnny's shoulder. What bothered him more though was the saddened look on Johnny's face that held a hint of guilt.

"Are you okay?" the older man asked.

Sue had never seen her brother like this before. She didn't know who the bodies in the body bags belonged to, but her guess was that had something to do with Johnny's current emotional distress.

"I failed them," the Human Torch said.

**To Be Continued…**

**Okay, so this chapter probably had more drama in it than romance, but you have to understand something. This is coming from a guy who has never had a girlfriend, never been in a relationship, and never dated before (way to embarrass yourself there, emb22). So really I am ****attempting**** to write something that resembles something that even comes remotely close to romance. **

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, who put my story on your story alert list, put me on your author alert list, put my story on your favorite story list, and/or put me on your favorite author list. Your support means so much to this otherwise lacking in self-confidence individual. I have recently discovered the joy of review replies, so from here on out that is how I will be thanking you. **

**I am thinking about starting another project (against my better judgment), and I wanted to get your guys' opinions. So, I've watched Transformers: The Movie twice since it came out, and I thought it was one of the best movies I've seen in theatres in a long while. My point is that I'm thinking of trying my hand at writing a Transformers fic. It would be under the category cartoon under the cartoon title Transformers/Beast Wars. When Beast Wars originally aired, I remember I was a huge fan of it (seriously, sometimes I think I am such a kid at heart). So I was thinking of sort of combining the two. I already have some ideas brewing in my head in terms of plot and characters. Anyways, would it be something you'd be interested in reading? Do you think I should do it? If so, when? **

**Lastly, thank you for your time. If you have any comments, feel free to leave a review and tell me. If you didn't like a particular quality of my writing, tell me so using constructive criticism ****not**** flaming. **


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fantastic Four. It is the property of 20****th**** Century Fox and Marvel. I am not making any profit by writing this.**

**Meant to Be**

_Chapter 9-Guilt_

A week had passed since the incident, and while Johnny had made a full recovery physically, he was emotionally scarred. The fun loving, devil-may-care attitude was markedly absent from the youngest member of the Fantastic Four. This was a cause for concern for his teammates. Perhaps nobody was more concerned about the Human Torch's change in disposition than his sister, Susan Storm.

"I've never seen him like this before," she said to her fiancé.

"I take it he still blames himself for the deaths of those four police officers?" Reed asked.

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Just give him some time. He'll come around. Before you know it, he'll be back to the same old Johnny we all know and love."

Sue thought back to the events of the past week starting with the night of the shooting. Never before had she been on through such a roller coaster of emotions. As tough as this past week had been for her, she could only imagine that it was at least ten times worse for her brother. For the past seven days, the three of them—Sue, Reed, and Ben—had all but spoiled Johnny. One would think that he would milk that for all it's worth, but surprisingly, he didn't. No, all he did was mope around barricading himself in his room, refusing to even so much as leave the Baxter Building.

"Thank you for being so good to my brother this past week. Thank you for being so good to me this past week. I couldn't have gone through this without you."

If anything, Reed and Sue had grown closer since the armed robbery. Whenever it became a bit too much for her to bear, whenever she needed a shoulder to cry on or someone to talk to, Reed was there for Sue.

"Hey, what are fiancés for? You know I would do absolutely anything for my friends. You know I would do absolutely anything for you," Reed replied leaving a trail of kisses on the back of Sue's neck.

"I'm just so glad Johnny is okay. When I saw that ambulance—when I saw that ambulance, I thought that I had lost him forever. I was so scared." Sue said.

Reed grabbed Sue by her shoulders, and turned her so that the two of them were facing. He took his right hand and tilted her chin up. With his left hand, he gently brushed a strand of hair away from her eyes.

"Look at me. He **is** okay though. I assure you that I will do everything in my power to help your brother get through this. Sue, Johnny will be his old self again."

Sue found herself in Reed's embrace. She felt warm, safe, and comfortable in his arms. As far as she was concerned, she would be perfectly content to stay in that position forever.

4-4-4-4

"How are you doing, Matchstick?" Ben asked.

The younger man didn't give a verbal response, but merely replied with a shrug of his shoulders. The Thing hated to admit it, but he missed the trademark cocky grin that was usually plastered on the Human Torch's face.

"Look kid, I know you feel bad about what happened. You have every right to, but you can't keep beatin' yourself up over it!"

"Four policemen died because of me! I could've done something to stop that from happening. I should have done something to stop that from happening."

"Did you cause the police car to crash into the telephone pole? Did you put the bullets into the chests of those police officers? No! You didn't kill them, Johnny!"

"I might as well have! By sitting there and doing nothing, I practically sentenced them to death! Maybe I should quit the team before I get somebody else killed."

Ben was stunned. Over the years, he had seen a lot of things, and thus he wasn't easily surprised, but this had him practically at a loss for words. _The face of the Fantastic Four quitting? Impossible. He would never do that. He loves this 'job.'_

"You're a hero! You saved the lives of at least two policemen!"

"A hero? Hardly! If I were a hero, then I would have been able to save everyone. You guys counted on me to handle the situation on my own until I received backup, and I couldn't even do that. I'm such a screw up!"

Johnny walked over to his bedroom window, and stared outside. He now had his back to Ben. It was a bright, sunny day outside in New York City unlike the Human Torch's current mood.

Ben frowned. That fateful night seven days ago took something away from Johnny that he could never get back. Hearing his young friend degrade himself in such a manner was quite unbearable.

"Listen to me, Johnny; you are not a screw up, okay? Sometimes bad things happen. It could've happened to any of us."

"These powers are the best thing that ever happened to me, but those robbers were my age. I couldn't flame them like I would Doom. They didn't have any powers. They were normal human beings. Since I couldn't use my powers on them, I felt so—helpless."

Ben nodded his head in an understanding manner. He was relieved and felt privileged that Johnny was opening up to him. Maybe now he could get some answers as to what exactly was on the young man's mind.

4-4-4-4

"I know this probably isn't the best time to tell you this, but I set a date for us to get married at a wedding chapel." Reed stated.

Sue's entire face lit up the instant she heard those words. She didn't know what happened to the old Reed that always thought but never acted. At any rate, she could care less what happened to **that **Reed. She was crazy about the Reed before her now. Sue showed her gratitude by wrapping her arms around his neck, and giving him a deep kiss.

The feeling of Sue's lips on his sent chills up and down Reed's spine. He felt a bit of a bulge in his pant area. He chuckled nervously, and backed up a few steps hoping all the while that Sue hadn't noticed.

Sue giggled, and Reed figured it was because she **had **felt his—bulge. In actuality, Sue was giggling because her fiancé's cheeks were flushed. _Aww, Reed's embarrassed. That's too adorable. The way he's acting all nervous is just so cute. _

Reed was a doctor, but he wasn't a love doctor. He didn't know what to say or what to do in these kinds of situations. All he knew was that he was starting to feel extremely uncomfortable. _I must be the luckiest guy on the planet. What did I do to deserve an amazing woman like Sue? Who would've thought that she would fall in love with a geek like me?_

"I…uh…I reserved the wedding chapel on 3rd Street for three weeks from now—the anniversary of the day I first met you at M.I.T.," Reed said.

"Reed, that is so romantic!"

Sue closed the distance between the two of them. She took her right index finger and traced a line from his chest to his belly button. The action caused the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end and his—bulge—to just get worse.

"You know Reed, I am **so** hot for you right now. In fact, I think that maybe you and I ought to reconsider our whole no-sex-before-our-wedding-night idea." Sue said seductively.

"Tubing…my tubing…test tube…I left a test tube over a Bunsen burner, and it's probably going to—boil over soon, so I uh, should go check on it."

Reed left in a hurry, and Sue could only gape at his sudden departure. _Was it something I said?_

4-4-4-4

"Johnny, you did the best that you could. No one expects any more from you." Ben commented.

"Did I? Did I do all that I could have done? I'm not so sure about that."

The older man noticed how the younger man looked defeated and downtrodden. The Thing missed the banter between him and the Human Torch. At least, that was a sign that the latter was in good spirits. Besides, it was a break from the seriousness that radiated off his other two teammates.

"Come here, kid," Ben said with open arms, motioning for Johnny to come closer so he could hug him. The younger man looked at him quizzically.

Despite the initial hesitation, Mr. Storm ended up accepting The Thing's embrace, and soon was listening to the thump of Ben's rock-solid heart.

"You want to talk about helpless, flame boy? I had to sit in the Baxter Building while the three of you went to the rescue. I, like every other New York City citizen, watched the television air live coverage of the high-speed chase. Then, I couldn't do anything to stop that lowlife from putting a bullet in your shoulder. **That** is helpless."

Johnny felt weird being hugged by Ben. First of all, he was taller than the Thing. Secondly, it was completely against their whole you-get-on-my-nerves dynamic the two of them usually had going on. Although, with Sue and Reed's wedding back on, those two were probably more occupied with each other to worry about him, so he decided to settle for what he can get. In a way, he was glad to hear that Ben cared about him so much.

"So you guys aren't—mad—at me?" Johnny questioned.

A light bulb went off in the Thing's head. _Is that what this is about?_ The look in his eyes, the way he said it, was reminiscent of the days when Ben was Johnny's C.O., and he would get scolded for his repeated screw ups.

"'Course not. We're just glad that you weren't hurt worse than you were. You done good, kid."

There was a knock on the doorframe to Johnny's room. They saw that it was Sue who had knocked.

"I'll give you two some time alone," Ben said before leaving the room.

Sue was all giddy inside because Reed had set a date for their wedding, but she kept that to herself. There was a time and place for everything, and this wasn't the time, nor was it the place.

"How's my little brother?"

"Physically? Better. Emotionally? A mess."

Sue was a little put off by the fact that Johnny was being so short with her. From what she walked in on, her guess was that Ben had managed to get her brother to open up to him. _Why won't he open up to his own sister?_

"Do you feel like going out somewhere?"

"Not really."

"Johnny, you're killing me. Talk to me. Tell me what's on your mind."

"I know you guys don't think I am, but I feel responsible for the deaths of those four policemen. Just as bad though is that I felt powerless to do anything about it, and that's the worst feeling in the world."

Sue's heart went out to her brother. _Helplessness. It's the same feeling I felt when Johnny jumped off the roof of the Baxter Building to divert the heat seeking missile away from colliding with the Baxter Building. He, as far as I knew, hadn't flown before he leapt off the rooftop, and I was scared that he wouldn't be able to. I remember I could only watch as he got closer and closer to crashing into the streets below. _

"You didn't kill anybody, Johnny. If you hadn't fused the back tires of the robbers' car to the asphalt, they might have gotten away, or worse more lives could've been lost. You're a hero little brother, and don't you forget it, and for that, I am proud of you."

**To Be Continued…**

**So the end of the chapter I think sucked. Probably a lot of you will say the characters were OOC. To top it off, it's been a week since I updated, and you all are probably ticked off at me about that. In my defense, I've been sick since Thursday (I'm still not completely over it). If you want to leave any comments, drop me a review. Constructive criticism is okay, but no flames please. I really appreciate you taking the time to read this. **


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fantastic Four. It is the property of Marvel and 20****th**** Century Fox. I am not making any profit by writing this.**

**Meant to Be**

_Chapter 10-Love is in the Air_

As the wedding day drew closer, Sue became more and more stressed. Reed tried his best not to succumb to the stress as well, but he inevitably did. Sue was driving him up the wall. Every single suggestion he made concerning the wedding was shot down by his fiancée. He understood that weddings were supposed to be all about what the bride wants, but this—this was getting ridiculous. Reed was so stressed out that he wanted to pull his hair out.

"Why don't you go with the sunflowers, honey? They're your favorite flowers."

"Reed, you're kidding, right? My wedding dress, the bridesmaid dresses, and the color scheme is white. _White_ not _yellow_!"

"Well you've already ruled out tulips, carnations, and roses. I'm not a botanist, but what other white flowers are left?"

"Look, just let me handle the wedding planning, all right? This is the biggest day of my life. I want everything to be perfect."

Reed mouthed 'thank you' behind Sue's back—or so he thought.

"I saw that!"

Reed threw his hands up in defense. He left his fiancée to stress out over every last detail of the wedding. If she didn't want his help, well, he couldn't complain. Truth be told, he much rather be working on a certain experiment of his that could revolutionize the way the Fantastic Four travel than deal with his fiancée's nagging.

4-4-4-4

On his way to the lab, Reed ran into Ben. The Thing had a particularly amused expression on his face. Reed looked at him quizzically.

"How goes the wedding planning?"

"Ugh. Don't ask."

"That bad, huh?"

"I don't know. Honestly, I don't know. That's Sue's department not mine."

Ben snickered a bit before clearing his throat and regaining his composure. He was glad that his best friend was soon to be married. Reed and Sue deserved one another. In a way though, it was a bittersweet time for Ben. Not too long ago, he was engaged too. He thought he would marry Debbie and spend the rest of his life with her. However, after the cosmic storm, Debbie wouldn't take Ben back after his outward physical appearance—changed.

"Actually, Ben, I'm glad I ran into you. I wanted to talk to you about something. Well ask you something really. Will you be my best man?"

"Wow Stretch, I'm honored. It's just—"

"What?"

"Maybe you should have Johnny be your best man. The kid's had a rough month ever since you-know-what. I'm sure he would like to feel included in the wedding."

Reed understood where Ben was coming from. Slowly, but surely, Johnny was showing flickers of his old self. However, it was all too evident that he wasn't exactly himself yet. He didn't go out half as much as he used to. Johnny never even got into banter with Ben.

"He _will_ be involved though. I'm certain that Sue is going to ask Johnny to give her away at the wedding. Besides, you're my best friend. There's no one I'd rather have as my best man than you."

"Okay. If you're certain that Matchstick will be included in the wedding, then I accept."

4-4-4-4

Sue went to check on her brother—well that and to take a break from planning her wedding. She would have hired a wedding planner, but she wasn't too fond of the idea of someone else planning _her_ wedding. She was about to knock on his bedroom door when it opened. Johnny had a brown leather jacket draped over his shoulder, and he looked as though he was just on his way out.

"Oh, are you going somewhere Johnny?"

"Yeah." 

"Where?"

"Out."

Sue sighed. Whenever her brother gave her one word answers, she knew that something was up. She knew him better than he probably thought she did. Johnny was trying to be strong because he didn't want to be seen as weak or vulnerable. Basically, he had a reputation to uphold, but Sue saw straight through his façade.

"If you're not going to talk to us about it, then maybe you should see a counselor. It's important that you talk about it instead of keeping it bottled up inside."

"No, it's important that you get out of my way so I can go out."

"Don't talk to me like that. I'm your sister."

"Oh, and you're talking to me like I'm a kid is any better?"

Sue knew that this would turn into a test of their willpower. Johnny was just as stubborn of an individual as her. Neither had any intention of backing down, but eventually one of them would cave in. It was just a matter of who would cave in first.

"I wouldn't treat you like a kid if you didn't act like one. Ever since the armed robbery, you've been moping around. Every time anyone of us would so much as attempt to talk to you, you would either snap at us or blow us off entirely. I'm sick of it!"

"Did you ever think that maybe just maybe you _can't_ help me? No one can help me. The sad truth is that this is something I'm going to have to deal with in my own way on my own terms. You cause the deaths of five people, and then just maybe you can lecture me on how I should deal with this."

"Johnny, for the last time you did _not_ cause their deaths! I knew that was why you didn't attend their funerals. Just so you know, their families didn't blame you at all. They were actually saddened that you didn't show up at the service."

The younger Storm sibling folded his arms over his chest and tapped his foot impatiently. He was avoiding making eye contact with his sister. His body language was telling her to move out of the way though. When that didn't work, he resorted to brushing past her. Sue let out a sigh, and watched sadly as her brother walked away from her.

4-4-4-4

Reed was busy working on some sketches of his latest project. Of course, he had many projects started, but just as many were nowhere near complete. He furiously erased a portion of his sketches. He rapidly tapped his pencil on his desk. Then, he stuck the tip of the pencil in his mouth and nibbled on it. Sue entered Reed's lab and couldn't help but smile at how enthralled Reed was with working on his projects. The serious look on his face was a bit of a turn on to her.

She snuck up behind him and covered his eyes with both of her hands. She looked at the sketches in front of her and was amazed by what she saw. It was amazing what kind of stuff Reed could come up with.

"What's this?"

"I-it's nothing."

"Reed, come on. You can tell me."

"Really Sue, it's nothing. It's not even past the drawing board stage. It is not beyond the realm of possibilities that this will end up being just another idea of mine that I scrap entirely."

The sketch before her was of what could best be described as a flying car. It had the Fantastic Four logo on the side of it. It was a sketch of it from four different views—from above, from below, from the right, and from the left.

Sue wrapped her arms around Reed's neck, and kissed the top of his forehead. He grew weak in the knees at the mere sensation of her soft lips on his skin.

"I don't think you should scrap this idea. I think it's one of your most brilliant ideas yet. Just don't forget that you and I are going to get married soon. I know that you have a tendency to become so involved with your projects that you forget about all the other commitments that you have."

"Come on. We're going to get married soon. I think I deserve a much better kiss than a kiss on the top of the forehead."

Sue laughed, but then was startled when Reed spun around in his chair, grabbed her by the waist, pulled her to him, and planted a wet one on her lips. Upon getting over her initial shock, she was soon returning the kiss with equal intensity. She grasped at the hairs on the back of his neck with one hand. Her other hand was resting against his cheekbone. They separated when air became an issue. Just when they were about to resume, Sue pulled back.

"Promise me that you won't let this or any other project interfere with our wedding day."

"I promise."

4-4-4-4

Ben was over at Alicia's place. He was lounging on the sofa with her snuggled up against him. He had his arm draped protectively over her. Lying like this with Alicia in his arms felt so right to Ben. He hadn't felt this way since Debbie, the only other love of his life. The Thing thought back to when he first met Miss Masters. At that time, nobody could look past his rocky exterior to see the person inside—not Johnny, not Debbie, nobody. Even Sue had let out a gasp the first time she saw Ben's appearance.

That's what he loved about Alicia though. She did what most people had a hard time doing—saw past how he looked on the outside. Sometimes Ben wondered if Alicia could see, if she would still feel the same way about him. After all, Debbie used to love Ben too, but once she saw The Thing, she broke off their engagement. In a way though, Ben felt that he and Alicia belonged together. They both were not what society would deem normal. They understood what it was like to not quite fit in. They understood what it was like to be different.

"So Benji, how's Johnny?"

"About the same. He still blames himself. I feel bad for the kid."

"Just give him time. He'll come around. It doesn't matter how many times you tell him it wasn't his fault. He won't start to believe that until he realizes it himself."

Ben nodded his head in understanding. That was one of the many things he loved about Alicia. She always gave good advice. She was always patient with people. She was always willing to give them a chance. Also, Alicia was a very intelligent woman. Intellect was a big turn on for Ben.

"I take it you came here to relax—to get away from it all? You _should_ relax Ben. Your body is so tense right now. How are Reed and Sue?"

"About what you would expect. Those two are gettin' more and more stressed by the day, particularly Susie."

"Maybe I should talk to them. Did Sue tell you that she asked me to be her maid of honor?"

"Yeah. I'm glad that you two have become such good friends. With the rest of the team being guys, I think Susie needed to have a close female friend."

The two of them fell into a comfortable silence. Both of them were relishing the time they had together. Ben sighed contently. He couldn't help but feel that he and Alicia might be the next ones to get married. Of course, not that he even thought about proposing to her yet. They hadn't even been going out all too long. They were still in that beginning getting-to-know-you phase of their relationship. Based on what Ben has found out about Alicia so far, there was no question in his mind that she was his soul mate. He noticed that the woman in his arms had fallen asleep. He gently scooped her up in his arms being careful not to wake her. Ben walked her into her bedroom, put her on her bed, and tucked her in. He kissed her on the lips before quietly leaving her place. He wasn't sure what awaited him at the Baxter Building, but he knew that it would take a lot to ruin his day now that Alicia had managed to brighten it up so much.

**To Be Continued…**

**Wow, ten chapters! I know that I don't do short, but I had no idea any of my multi-chapter fics would be this long. It's not even done yet either. I hope the characters were a bit more in character this chapter. I feel better about how this chapter turned out in relation to how I felt about the last chapter. I still don't quite know what I was thinking when I decided to write this. I'm dabbling a bit in various genres, but I know I am not a very good romance author, hence this is drama/romance, lol. Let me know what you think by leaving me a review. No flames please. Thank you for your time.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fantastic Four. That is the property of Marvel and 20****th**** Century Fox. I am not making any profit by writing this.**

**Meant to Be**

_Chapter 11-Open Your Eyes_

"Reed!"

Mr. Fantastic winced at the sound of his soon-to-be-wife shouting his name once again. As of late, Sue was irritable, cranky, short-tempered, stressed, and yelled a lot. Most of the time, Reed was the one she would take out her anger and frustration on through her screaming at him or venting to him. This behavior had become so commonplace that he forgot what it was like for his fiancée to _not_ yell at him. He took a deep breath and braced himself before heading in the general direction of Sue's voice.

"Yes, sweetie?"

"It took you long enough to get here! What were you doing?"

"Nothing dear."

"Cut that out! Quit faking being nice to me! I can see right through the front you're putting up!"

Reed took a moment to reflect on what Sue had just said. _Is that what I'm doing, faking being nice to her? No, it can't be. Could it? I mean yeah she is getting on my nerves, but I just need to keep reminding myself that once she and I get married that I will no longer have to put up with this side of Sue. _

"Reed!"

He was shaken out of his thoughts by his fiancée screaming his name. Reed noticed how Sue had narrowed her eyes at him and her face was beginning to turn red with anger. _That's never good._

"Did you want something from me, Sue?"

"Why do you make it seem like such a chore for you to come when I call your name?"

"It's not a chore!"

"Then why didn't you get here sooner?"

"Excuse me for not being there at your beck and call!"

Reed was trying his best not to get mad at Sue, but she wasn't making it easy for him. Their argument, if you can call it that, had escalated to the point where they were now both shouting at one another.

"You know what Reed, forget it! I have a pretty good idea what you were doing. You were in your lab working on one of your projects, weren't you? I can't believe this! I just had to fall in love with the one guy who would much rather marry his work than me!"

"Sue, wait!"

But it was too late. She had already stormed off and was in the elevator on her way down to the ground floor of the Baxter Building.

4-4-4-4

Johnny was standing before the four tombstones of the police officers who lost their lives in the armed-robbery-turned-high-speed-car-chase. The four tombstones had the names Johnson, Michaels, Anderson, and Smith on them. He couldn't bring himself to attend their funeral, but he finally was able to muster up the courage to visit their graves. He looked sadly at the tombstones. Just being here conjured up an all too vivid memory of what happened on that fateful night.

"I was hoping I'd run into you."

The Human Torch turned around to see a woman in her forties. He wiped away the tears that had formed in the corners of his eyes with his hand.

"And you are?"

"I'm Officer Johnson's wife. I didn't see you at the funeral."

"Yeah. I'm sorry about that. It was just I couldn't—it was too hard to—I—"

Johnny hated how small his voice sounded. Usually he wasn't one to stumble over his words. On the contrary, generally the Human Torch had no trouble saying what was on his mind. However, this was one of those rare occasions where that _wasn't_ the case.

"It's okay. I understand. You're here now though. That's all that matters."

Johnny couldn't even bear to look the woman in the face. She seemed like a nice enough woman, but still, he couldn't shake the feeling that she could go off on him at any second blaming him for the death of her husband. _Heck, I blame myself for the death of her husband, so why shouldn't she blame me too?_

"I come here everyday you know. Sometimes, I'll talk to him. Other times, I'll just sit here with him. I know that probably sounds silly."

"No. Not at all."

The two of them stood there in a silence that was comfortable to one, but awkward for the other. The Human Torch didn't know what to even say to the woman who was now standing at his side. He was startled when she took his hand in hers.

"I don't blame you for my late husband's death. You know that, don't you?"

"You don't?"

"Why do you sound so surprised? I don't blame you. I have no reason to."

Hearing her say those words was like taking a huge load off of Johnny's shoulders. Sure, people have told him time and time again that it wasn't his fault, but to hear the wife of one of the slain police officers say it was an entirely different thing. For the first time since the incident, Johnny was starting to believe it as well.

4-4-4-4

Sue found herself at Alicia's front door. After discovering the door was unlocked, she let herself in. Miss Storm and Miss Masters had grown quite close ever since they first met. Sue had asked Alicia to be her maid of honor at the wedding. The Invisible Woman was glad to have a close female friend in Alicia.

"Alicia?"

"I'm in the bedroom."

Sue found Alicia sitting up in her bed with her lower half of her body underneath the covers. She had a slightly disheveled look to her, and was currently rubbing the sand from her eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Were you sleeping? Is this a bad time? If it is, I can come back tomorrow."

"Sue, it's fine. I guess I must have dozed off in Ben's arms. He must have carried me in here and tucked me in. Anyways, what's up?"

"Reed and I got into a fight if you can even call it that. Apparently he cares more about his projects than he does about me."

"What makes you say that?"

The fact that Reed and Sue were fighting didn't come as a surprise to Alicia. From what Ben told her, Sue had been getting increasingly stressed as the wedding day approached. Alicia didn't doubt that this was probably a stressful time for everyone involved.

"The closer we get to our wedding date, the less time Reed and I spend with each other. I'm trying to handle all the wedding planning while he is in his lab no doubt working on another of his many projects."

"Why doesn't he help you?"

"Alicia, he's a guy! What could he possibly know about planning a wedding? Besides, I've dreamt about my dream wedding ever since I was a little girl, and I want everything to be just perfect, so I told him to leave the wedding planning to me."

After Sue got done responding, she realized how awkward what she had just said was. She had a pretty good idea how Alicia would respond to that. It was probably the same way she would respond to it if roles were reversed.

"So you're mad at Reed for doing what you asked him to do?"

"I guess so. That _does_ sound pretty stupid. Still though, I feel like I will always come in second with Reed. His work is and always will be his top priority."

"If that were true, then do you think he would have asked you to marry him?"

Sue had always thought that between her and Johnny, she was the one who had a good head on her shoulders. However, if there was one thing Sue admired about Alicia, it was her ability to talk some sense into her and to give her good advice without hurting her feelings in the process.

"Well, no."

"As far as the wedding planning is concerned, I'd be more than happy to help you with that. You just have to ask yourself one question—what's more important, having a perfect wedding or marrying Reed?"

"Why does it have to be one or the other?"

"It doesn't have to be, but if you continue down the path you are on, then it might end up that way."

Sue didn't even want to contemplate the thought of losing Reed. Sure their relationship had its fair share of ups and downs, but what relationship doesn't? The two of them have known each other for such a long time, they've been through so much together, that Sue couldn't even think of anyone else in her life that could even come close to being her soul mate.

"Thanks for talking some sense into me, Alicia. I should probably be going now. I have an apology to make."

4-4-4-4

"Hey there Stretch. Where's Sue?"

"Your guess is as good as mine."

"Uh-oh. Did you two get into a fight again?"

"I don't know. I honestly don't know. Yeah. At least I think so. I don't even remember what the fight was about. All I remember was we fought, and she stormed off."

Ben had been in such a good mood too after basically cuddling with Alicia. He was still in a good mood, but his day was no longer as bright as it was a minute or so ago. The Thing wished that Reed and Sue could stop fighting especially so close to their wedding day. Ben hated the thought of either of them calling off the wedding when their wedding, as of this moment, was only two weeks away.

"If there's one thing I learned from my relationship with Debbie, it was to apologize even if you don't think you did anything wrong in the first place."

"If she thinks she is the only one who is stressed out, if she thinks she is the only one who hasn't been getting much sleep, then she has another thing coming. I am utterly confused Ben. I do precisely what she asks me to do and leave the wedding planning to her, and then she bites my head off for God knows what reason."

"Two more weeks. All you have is two more weeks to put up with it, and then you two will be married. One day, you'll look back at these days and have a good laugh."

Reed rolled his eyes and scoffed at his best friend. Somehow he doubted that he would _ever_ look back at his pre-wedding days and laugh at the way Sue behaved.

"What should I apologize for if I don't even know what I did wrong in the first place?"

The way Ben and Reed were standing, Reed had his back to the elevator while Ben was facing it. The Thing saw Sue step out of the elevator right when Reed was in the midst of asking his question. Ben cleared his throat and with his head, subtly motioned his head in Sue's direction.

"I'll leave you two alone." Ben said before heading for his room.

"Sue, I—"

"I'm sorry too, Reed. I just got back from talking to Alicia, and she made me realize that the wedding dinner menu, the decorations, the music for our first dance, none of that matters as much as marrying you. If I had to choose between having the perfect wedding and marrying the perfect guy, hands down I choose marrying the perfect guy—I choose marrying you, Reed."

Before Reed could so much as get a word out, Sue had cut him off by kissing him. Mr. Fantastic suddenly forgot what he was about to say, but he could care less. The two of them were in the here and now, and the only thing they cared about was that their significant other was kissing them.

**TBC…**

**I know it's been over a week since my last update, but keep in mind that I am in summer school. I just finished taking my finals for the first of two sessions of summer school this past week, and the second session starts tomorrow. While, ideally, I would love to do nothing more than to do nothing but write fanfiction all day, in reality, I cannot do that. At least if I don't want to fail my summer school classes. So, please bear with me. I'll do my best to shoot for a once a week update (maybe more often depending on how busy I am with schoolwork), but that is not etched in stone, so if I don't meet that schedule, please try not to hold that against me. If you have any comments, by all means tell me in a review. If you have anything to critique me on, feel free to tell me in a review. I gladly welcome constructive criticism. It helps me to improve my writing. No flames though please. **


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fantastic Four. The names, movies, likenesses, etc., etc., are the property of Marvel and 20****th**** Century Fox. I am not making any profit by writing this although I wish I did.**

**Meant to Be**

_Chapter 12-Uncertainty_

As the wedding of the century drew nearer, it started to become a topic that virtually every single media outlet covered. There was always an article about it in the front page of the newspapers. There was always a story about it in countless magazines. A sizable proportion of the news broadcasts on television talked about it. Radio shows couldn't help but talk about it. Of course, it was all over the internet too.

Reed, Ben, and Sue were at the kitchen table eating breakfast on a Saturday morning. Johnny wasn't up yet. He had a penchant for sleeping in no matter what day of the week it was. However, Reed, Ben, and Sue had noticed a marked improvement in the young man's mood as of late. They weren't sure what exactly had transpired, but they weren't about to ruin a good thing by bringing it up. It would probably be in the best interest of everyone to leave it alone lest Johnny should slip back into a bad mood again.

"Reed, are you done with the front page of the newspaper? I'd like to see it," Sue said.

With a speed nobody knew Reed possessed, he folded the front page of the paper so that it was hidden from Sue's vantage point. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair. His fiancée arched her eyebrows at him not sure what to make of his bizarre behavior.

"What? This? Oh, you don't want to look at this. Take my word for it, there's nothing of interest in here. It's nothing but the same old stuff," Reed answered talking faster than normal.

"What's gotten into you? Why are you being so weird? Come on Reed, it's the only section of the newspaper that I haven't read yet. Now, can I please have it?" Sue asked.

Ben faked a sneeze spilling his oversized mug of coffee all over the front page of the newspaper barely missing Reed in the process. He got up from his chair, snatched the front page, and inspected the damage.

"Oh no! I'm so sorry! I got my coffee all over it! Stupid allergies! Now you can't read anything at all on it! I might as well just throw it away then," Ben remarked before tossing it in the trash can.

"You guys do realize that I can always just go out and _buy_ another newspaper, don't you?" Sue inquired.

4-4-4-4

The alarm on Johnny's alarm clock went off. At first, there was no response. Soon, Johnny buried his head under his pillow because he was too lazy to get out of bed, walk over to his dresser and turn off his alarm.

_Who the heck set my alarm in the first place? I know I didn't. I bet it was Pebbles. He knows I like to sleep in, and he is probably still a little vengeful. Yep, wide load probably didn't care for waking up from his nap yesterday to find himself covered from head to toe in honey and feathers. We'll just see who gets the last laugh though. _

Johnny cracked one eye open to see what time it was. It was 10 a.m. The alarm was still beeping much to the Human Torch's annoyance. He silenced it though by blasting it with a fireball. Johnny was a heavy sleeper once he was asleep, but he always had a heck of a time falling asleep in the first place. He kicked off his covers, and decided there was no point even bothering trying to fall back asleep.

_Whatever you do Johnny, do not let Ben have the satisfaction of knowing that he got the last laugh…for now. Hold on a second. How could rocks-for-brains even have set my alarm in the first place? The buttons are way too small for his ginormous fingers! Unless—unless he had help. I wonder who Ben got to help him. Surely Sue wouldn't do that to me. I bet it was Reed. After all, he and Reed are best friends. That is so unfair! Hey, maybe I can get my sister to join my side, and the two of us can give the two of them a little payback._

4-4-4-4

Johnny walked out to the kitchen and saw Sue digging through the trash looking for the newspaper that Ben had disposed of. He hadn't just placed it on the top of the contents in the trash can. He also mixed the contents up, so the newspaper could be anywhere in the garbage.

"Uh…what are you doing? On second thought, I don't even want to know," Johnny said to his sister.

"Well, well. Look who finally got up. Do you mind giving me a hand?" Sue asked.

The Human Torch wrinkled his face in disgust. Rummaging through garbage wasn't exactly one of his favorite pastimes. "Yes, I do mind."

"Aha! Found it!" Sue exclaimed holding up the front page of the paper.

Before she could even look at it, it was a smoldering pile of ashes. She glared at her brother, who rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged his shoulders.

"Why do I get the feeling that you, Ben, and Reed are trying to hide something from me?" Sue asked.

"Gee, I don't know, sis. You must be paranoid," Johnny remarked.

"Whatever. I'm just going to go and buy another newspaper then," Sue stated.

She tried to leave the kitchen, but Johnny was blocking her way. Every time, she would go to the left or the right, he would follow suit. Sue started to get impatient with her brother. She put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot on the floor repeatedly.

"Will you move?" she asked.

"I need your help. Ben and I are in a prank war, and I think he's enlisted Reed's help, so I need you to join my side and kind of even the playing field," Johnny explained.

Sue scoffed. "I don't have time for your childish games!"

She trapped her brother between two force fields. When she was in the elevator, she released him. Johnny ran after her to stop her, but the elevator door had already closed.

4-4-4-4

Ben and Reed were in Reed's lab.

"So that sure was close earlier, huh?" Ben asked.

"Yeah, it's a good thing Sue didn't look at the front page of the newspaper. I don't think Sue really likes being a celebrity. In fact, I think the only one who likes all the attention that comes with the territory of being a celebrity is Johnny," Reed replied.

"Do you really think Sue will call off the wedding if she catches wind of all the attention the media is giving your wedding?"

"I hope not, but I don't want to take any chances, Ben. She can't find out. She just can't."

Ben couldn't be happier for Reed and Sue. Their wedding day was almost here, and personally The Thing thought it was a long time coming. Even when Sue and Reed saw each other for the first time in years, back when Reed and Ben went to Von Doom Industries to try to get Victor to collaborate with them on their space mission, Ben could tell that there was something still there between Sue and Reed.

"Well Stretch, it won't be long until you're a married man. "

"I know. I'm nervous. Well, more anxious than nervous. I hope nothing goes wrong. I want everything to be perfect for Sue. She deserves it," Reed commented.

4-4-4-4

Sue purchased a newspaper from a street vendor. It wasn't long before someone recognized that they were in the presence of the Invisible Woman.

"Sue Storm? Look everyone, it's the Invisible Woman! I'm such a huge fan. I love that invisibility thing you do! My kids love you!"

Sue was soon running away from a swarm of adoring fans. She saw the front page of the paper for the first time. _Now I know why Reed, Ben, and even Johnny didn't want me to look at the paper._ She quickly perused the article and didn't like how people were referring to her and Reed's wedding as 'the wedding of the century.' _That would explain why they haven't been letting me watch television, use the internet, or read magazines and certain sections of the newspaper. _Sue always dreamt of having a big wedding, but having practically the entire New York populace in attendance was pushing the envelope.

She was too consumed in thinking about the newspaper article that she didn't realize that her own personal fan club was gaining on her. She threw the paper on the ground. _I can't believe I'm doing this again!_ She turned invisible and began removing her articles of clothing. As luck would have it, she didn't happen to be wearing her uniform, so she didn't have much of a choice in the matter.

_I don't know if I can do this anymore. I don't know if I can get married to Reed. Not like this. I don't want a media circus wedding._

TBC…

**A/N: I am deeply sorry for not updating in such a long time, but even if it took me awhile, the important thing is that I'm updating now. Since my last update, I've graduated from college and have moved from California to Florida. I hope you're not too discouraged by my hiatus that you don't want to read or review my story anymore. If you are still interested in this story, feel free to leave a review. No matter how mad you may be at me, please don't flame me. Last but not least, thank you so much to everyone who has read and reviewed this story. **


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